Berridale is a small town in New South Wales. At the The dry climate later proved the town ideal for growing fine merino wool. Oliver's store became a wayside inn in 1870, which still exists as the Berridale Inn, and a granite store was built. A post office opened in the town in 1869 with a telegraph office opening in 1870.
The town nicknamed itself the 'Crossroads of the Snowy' during the period when gold miners would pass through on their way to the Adaminaby and Kiandra goldfields. Berridale was also nicknamed the 'Town of the Poplars' in the 1990s due to the main road through it from Cooma to Jindabyne (Jindabyne Road/Kosciusko Road ) being lined by an avenue of poplars. The town grew slowly with the pastoral industry forming the mainstay of the local economy. The town hosted a work camp for the Snowy Mountains Authority although its population did not grow as much as Jindabyne or Cooma during the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
Berridale is also home to one of the largest collections of heavy machinery and associated equipment salvaged from construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The items include dozers, graders, scrapers, dumpers, loaders, tournapulls, trucks, snow equipment and numerous other pieces, from well known makers such as Allis-Chalmers, Caterpillar, International, Euclid, LeTourneau Technologies, Leyland, Thornycroft and others and numbers in excess of 100 pieces. A museum is planned for future construction to display the items.
In recent decades, Berridale has developed a tourism industry based on its location en route to the NSW snow fields. John Howard was staying in Berridale in September 1985 on a family ski holiday when Andrew Peacock announced that he would call a party room meeting to replace him as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. When Howard was re-elected as Deputy Leader on 5 September, Peacock was in an untenable position and resigned with Howard becoming Leader of the Liberal Party and the Leader of the Opposition.
Climate and geography
Berridale features an oceanic climate (Cfb); climate data sourced from nearby Cooma-Snowy Mountains Airport at similar elevation and position to Berridale itself. Snowfall is common, but generally light and often melts quickly due to the westerly foehn winds. Berridale's climate is relatively dry as the town is located in a rainshadow on the Monaro, sandwiched between the Snowy Mountains and the coastal ranges.
The land surrounding the town is a combination of cleared farmland and lightly wooded bush. There are granite boulders located south through west of the town on the roads to both Jindabyne and Dalgety. This granite was crystallised as a large mass from magma 400 million years ago miles from the Earth's surface and was gradually eroded and uplifted to its current position. The hills immediately to the north of the town have less granite. There are, however, a few small areas of shale.
Population
In the 2021 Census, there were 1,300 people in Berridale. 82.4% were born in Australia and 89.3% only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 44.0%, Catholic 17.9% and Anglican 16.6%. The pilot, Lt Chester Namola stayed overnight with the headmaster of the local public school.