BERRIDALE Berridale is sort of midpoint between Cooma and Jindabyne. Berridale is a small drive through town, but does invite a stopover. The European settlement was founded in the 1860s, when Scotsman William Oliver built his house there in 1863 and opened a roadside store, naming the location as a variation on his home town in Scotland, Berridale. 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 Beridale Inn. 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 being lined by an avenue of poplars. The 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. The Anglican (over 100 years) and the Catholic Church (100 in 2013) are grand testaments to that earlier era. The Berridale War Memorial is the classic WW1 updated cenotaph. Berridale is a nice town that has most essential services and a stopover has merit. Heritage diary