Editing Junee (section)

==History==
The [[Wiradjuri]] people are the [[traditional owners]] of the local area prior to European settlement. [[Cuppacumbalong Homestead|Leopold de Salis (1816–1898)]], pastoralist and later politician was one of the first squatters to open up the Riverina region to grazing.<ref>Sutherland J (1999), ''A Short History of the Riverina Wheat Industry'', New South Wales Heritage Office</ref> He established the 'Junee' pastoral run in 1845. Leopold held the licence for this run for a total of three years. Other run licencees followed until Thomas Hammond and Richard Gwynne bought the licence in 1857. The Junee run progressively reduced in area as selectors took up land but Hammond lived on it until his death in 1899, the remaining property having been named "Wyoming" in 1887. A post office opened in 1862 and a village called 'Junee' was gazetted in 1863 on the wool road to Sydney. That same year, [[Ben Hall (bushranger)|Ben Hall]] and his bushranging gang raided the village.<ref name="Cultureand">{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/junee--culture-and-history-20081121-6d7u.html  |title=Junee - Culture and History |date=21 November 2008 |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |archive-date=30 December 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121230181151/http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/junee--culture-and-history-20081121-6d7u.html}}</ref>

[[File:CountryLink XPT 2018 at Junee 01.jpg|thumb|left|[[Junee railway station]] with a [[CountryLink]] [[New South Wales XPT|XPT]] at the platform in 2009]]
In 1866 Junee's population was recorded as twelve but the discovery of reef and alluvial gold during the 1860s triggered a gold rush. The main sites- Junee Reefs (to the north), was mined on and off until after [[World War I|World War 1]], as well as Wantiool and Eurongilly (to the east) until the 1880s.

By 1878 with the southward expansion of the [[Main Southern railway line, New South Wales|Main South line]] in New South Wales, the main railway line between Sydney and [[Melbourne]] passed 8 kilometres east of the village. Junee's Post Office was renamed Old Junee in 1885 ([[Junee railway station]]).<ref name = "PostOffice">{{Cite web | work = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304123418/https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=NSW&country= |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead | url =https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=NSW&country= | access-date = 2009-06-11}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2024|reason=Generic URL provided, not to specific Junee entry.}} Loftus was the original name of the locality being farm land and as the settlers moved in for the rail line it was renamed. Junee Railway Station Post Office opened on 6 July 1878, was renamed Junee Junction in 1881 and later still, Junee in 1893.<ref name = "PostOffice"/>

===Rail and road===
The Main South line between Sydney and Melbourne runs through Junee, as does the [[Olympic Highway]], named for the route of the [[1956 Summer Olympics]] [[1956 Summer Olympics#Olympic torch relay|Torch Relay]].
The advent of rail transport in 1878 provided the impetus for an economic boom providing local agricultural producers with affordable direct access to markets in Sydney. In 1952 the largest wheat terminal in the Southern Hemisphere was constructed at Junee, adjacent to the South West Railway, providing both rail and road transport.<ref name="Cultureand" />

Rail transport makes an important contribution to the local economy with [[Regional Rail Logistics]]{{update inline|date=April 2021|reason=RRL disappeared a long time ago; current operator is Qube}} operating a containerised freight service that delivers various goods from Junee to Sydney,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/news/local/news/general/new-rail-service-a-boost-for-riverina/1383756.aspx|title=New rail service a boost for Riverina |work=The Daily Advertiser |date=7 November 2012 |orig-date=10 December 2008 |publisher=dailyadvertiser.com.au |access-date=2009-01-08 |archive-date=21 August 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240821113059/https://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/story/726275/new-rail-service-a-boost-for-riverina/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> with interstate freight trains also passing through the town.

===Local Government===
On 1 January 1981, Junee Municipal Council amalgamated with the surrounding "Illabo Shire Council', creating Junee Shire Council.