Wee Jasper, New South Wales

Wee Jasper is a hamlet in the Yass Valley Shire in New South Wales, Australia, about 90 km north-west of Canberra and 60 km south-west of Yass. It is in the Goodradigbee valley at the western foot of the Brindabella Ranges, near Burrinjuck Dam. At the, Wee Jasper and the surrounding area had a population of 127.

Name Wee Jasper
The origin of the name Wee Jasper is unknown but it is possibly of Aboriginal origin. It has been in use since at latest 1848 when it appeared as "Weejasper". In 1970, the place name was changed, officially, from Weejasper to Wee Jasper.

History
The Ngunnawal people once lived over the site of Wee Jasper and the surrounding Goodradigbee River valley. Diseases decimated aboriginal populations ahead of colonial settlement. The New South Wales colonial government ineffectually prohibited settlement in the area and others outside the Nineteen Counties but livestock herders reached the valley early. The Hume and Hovell expedition passed through the area in October 1824.

In 1831, the land of "Cooradigbee", south of Wee Jasper, was granted to William Hampden Dutton. It was one of the last free land grants in the colony of New South Wales and was made only because it had been promised by Governor Darling, in October 1830. On December 1848, the County of Buccleuch and neighbouring County of Cowley were proclaimed. In 1866, a site for a Goodradigbee village was proclaimed but never eventuated and was cancelled in 1900. A cluster of settlement, which would become Wee Jasper, developed further up the river, nearer the eventual bridge site.

"Coodra Vale", a property of 40,000 acres (16,188 ha) close to Wee Jasper, was the home of pastoralist, Stewart Ryrie, Junior, from 1871 until his death in 1882. From 1908 to 1912, "Coodra Vale" was the home of renowned Australian poet, A.B. "Banjo" Paterson, and his poem, A Mountain Station, was informed by the time he spent there as an agriculturalist.

In the 1890s, gold was mined in 'The Wee Jasper' goldfield, south of Wee Jasper, along the Goodradigbee creek of which Wee Jasper Creek is a tributary. The Goodradigbee Goldfield, which included the area, was proclaimed in 1882 but revoked in 1897 and the area was never a significant goldfield.

In 1896, the bridge across the Goodradigbee River at Wee Jasper was opened, providing better connection to Yass and Tumut. By 1887, Wee Jasper had a police station. Wee Jasper Post Office first opened in January 1886, closed in March 1892, reopened in 1895 and remained in service until 1994. in 1899, a school was opened as a provisional school and achieved public school status in 1918. Wee Jasper had a Catholic church, now re-purposed.

Activities
The area is known for its caves and fossils, camping, canoeing and fishing. Near the village are several camping and recreation reserves close to numerous caves. The best known cave is Carey's Cave, a system of seven caverns lying just north of the town. Others lie to the north and south, including Dip, Dogleg, Punch-bowl and Signature Caves. Wee Jasper is also home to the Wee Jasper Distillery.

Fossils, including members of the Acanthothoracid placoderm fish family Weejasperaspididae, the primitive placoderm Brindabellaspis stensioi and the prehistoric lungfish, Dipnorhynchus cathlesae, have been found in the area.

Climate
Wee Jasper has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) with mild to warm summers and chilly, very wet winters. Moderate to heavy snowfalls are common through the winter and early spring months, often associated with northwest cloudbands. Annual rainfall is in the order of 1500 mm; nearly thrice as wet as Canberra.

Maximum temperatures are significantly cooler than adjacent regions of similar altitude in the Australian Capital Territory, owing to its windward position on the western slopes of the Brindabella Range.

Heritage listings
Wee Jasper has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
 * 278 Main Road: Wee Jasper Bridge over Goodradigbee River