Eighty confirmations were performed in 1875 in conjunction with a jubilee attended by Bishop Lanigan of Goulburn and Fathers Bermingham (Burrowa), Dunne and O'Dwyer (Gundagai), and Hanley (Goulburn). Mass was held fortnightly in the schoolroom by visiting priests from Gundagai. St Columba's church was consecrated on 30 November 1879. The first resident pastor was Rev. Richard Butler in 1881. Military history During World War II, Cootamundra was the location of RAAF No.3 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 14 June 1944. It was located in an area of land near the intersection of Olympic Highway and Thompson Street. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000). It was also home to the No 1 Air Observers School, commemorated by a plaque at Cootamundra Airfield. A plane from the No. 31 Beaufighter Squadron, RAAF, from Wagga Wagga, crashed nearby on 21 September 1942 during training exercises, resulting in the death of Flt/Sgt J. E. Jenkins and Sgt V. Sutherst. A memorial alongside the main road to Young, dedicated on 28 April 1990, is regularly tended. See Gallery below. Heritage listings Cootamundra has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Cootamundra-Griffith railway: Cootamundra West railway station Main Southern railway: Cootamundra railway station 39 Rinkin Street: Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls 219 Sutton Street: Cootamundra World War II Fuel Depot Description and attractions Cootamundra is located in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, within the Riverina region. It is within the local government area of Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. Abb McAlister was elected mayor of the newly-formed Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council on 21 September 2017. The town is known as the birthplace of the great cricketer Sir Donald Bradman. Although he never lived in the town and his parents left Yeo Yeo (some 18km from Cootamundra) when he was two, the town celebrates this connection with the Sir Donald Bradman Birthplace Museum, the home where "The Don" was born, a fully restored visitors' site featuring cricketing memorabilia and artefacts. The Coota Ex-Services Club is an ex-servicemen's club that is open to the public as a restaurant. Hemet, California, is a sister city. Cricket Captains' Walk In 1998 a collection of 14 captains of the Australia International Test XI