New South Wales ­ West

Bathurst
Population 26,500
Bathurst is situated on the fertile western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, 208km (129 miles) west of Sydney.

Climate
Average temperatures: January max 27C (81F) - min 13C (55F); July 11C (52F) - min -1C (30.2F). Average annual rainfall: 629mm (25 ins); drizzle rain in winter and storms in summer.

Characteristics
Bathurst is Australia's oldest inland settlement and the centre of a large grain and pastoral district with many historic and distinctive buildings. When gold was discovered in the hills around Bathurst, many towns such as Hill End, Sofala and Hargraves sprung up. Most of them have either disappeared or are ghost towns.

How to Get There
By Bus
Greyhound Pioneer all have daily services to Bathurst from Sydney.

By Rail
There is a Countrylink service from Sydney to Bathurst and Orange.

 

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By Road
From Sydney, either via the Great Western Highway, or via the Kurrajong Road through Bilpin and Bell to Lithgow.

From Melbourne, via the Hume Highway to Seymour and then the Goulburn Valley Highway to Tocumwal, then the Newell Highway to West Wyalong.

From Adelaide, via the Sturt Highway through Renmark and Mildura to Hay, then via the Mid Western Highway to West Wyalong; or via the Barrier Highway through Broken Hill to Nyngan and then via the Mitchell Highway.

From Brisbane, via the Cunningham Highway to Warwick and Goondiwindi, then via the Newell Highway through Moree to Dubbo; or via the New England Highway from Warwick to Tam-worth then the Oxley Highway to Dubbo, then the Mitchell Highway.

Tourist Information
The Bathurst Visitor Information Centre is at 28 William Street, Bathurst. They have a website, www.bathurst.nsw.gov.au, and an email address, visitors@ bathurst.nsw.gov.au

Accommodation
Here is a selection of accommodation with prices for a double room per night, which should be used as a guide only. The telephone area code is 02.

James Cook International Motor Inn, cnr Mid Western & Great Western Highways, 6332 1800. 50 units, licensed restaurant, swimming pool, bbq - $110-135.
Sundowner Chain Motor Inn, 19 Charlotte Street, 6331 2211. 37 units, licensed restaurant (closed Sunday), swimming pool - $85-175.
Coachman's Inn Motel, cnr Great Western Highway & Oberon Road, 6331 4855. 26 units, licensed restaurant (closed Sunday) - $95.
Ben Chifley Motor Inn, 272 Stewart Street, 6331 5055. 28 units, licensed restaurant, pool - $105.
Bathurst Motor Inn, 87 Durham Street, 6631 3568. 53 units, licensed restaurant, swimming pool, spa, gym, room service - $55-150.
Park Hotel, cnr George & Keppel Streets, 6331 3399. 19 rooms (private facilities), licensed bistro - B&B $70.

Caravan Park
Easts Bathurst Caravan Park, Sydney Road, 6331 8286. (No pets) 145 sites, pool, tennis - powered sites $18 for two, cabins $50-85 for two.

Eating Out
Many of the motels have restaurants, either licensed or BYO, and the licensed clubs have dining rooms or restaurants/bistros. There are also the usual number of takeaway food outlets, and the Tourist Office will have a complete list.

Points of Interest
The Visitor Centre has trained guides available to provide a commentary on historic buildings in Bathurst for tour groups, and makes brochures available to individuals.

The Victorian Renaissance Court House, with its double-storey portico and large octagonal central dome, faces Kings Square. It has two wings and the verandahed wing was built as a telegraph office. The Historical Museum is in the East Wing, and is open Mon-Fri 9am-4.30pm, Sat-Sun 10am-4pm.

The Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, 70 Keppel Street, is open Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sat-Sun 2-5pm.
Abercrombie House, built in the 1870s and classified by the National Trust, is open for inspection on Sundays at 3pm, except in winter.

Ben Chifley's Cottage, the home of the former Prime Minister, is open Tues-Sat 2-4pm, and Sunday 10am-noon.

Old Government Cottage, behind no. 1 George Street, is where Macquarie stayed during his farewell visit to Bathurst in 1821. It is hopen Sundays 1.30-3.30pm.

Miss Traill's House, 321 Russell Street, is also a National Trust property and is hopen Tues-Sat 1pm-3pm and Sun 10am-3pm.

The Holy Trinity Church at Kelso was completed in 1835 and is the oldest consecrated Anglican Church in Australia.

St Michael and St John's Catholic Cathedral was completed in 1861. St Stanislaus' College has taken pupils since 1873, and is Australia's oldest Catholic Boarding School.

Ohkuma Japanese Garden is on the corner of Stanley and George Streets. Okhkuma is the sister-city of Bathurst, and this garden was laid out in 1998 as a symbol of the link.

Macquarie River Bicentennial Park is a popular spot for a picnic. The 35 bells of the Carillon in Kings Parade plays every day at noon and 1pm. Also located within the park are three war monuments which commemorate the sacrifice of men from the Bathurst district.

Outside the Visitor Centre is the Victors' Walk, where brass plaques have been embedded in checker-board concrete to commemorate winners of the Bathurst 1000. At Mt Panorama is the Motor Racing Circuit which is used for the annual Bathurst 1000 motor race. Experience the excitement, disappointment and enjoyment that is motor racing in Bathurst at the National Motor Racing Museum, which is on Murray Corner and is hopen daily 9am-4.30pm. It has a selection of memorabilia associated with the big race, collected over the years, from cars and trophies to souvenirs.

Located on Mt Panorama is the Sir Joseph Banks Nature Park, which has koalas, kangaroos and wallabies in a 41ha (101 acres) park, open daily 10am-4pm.

The Bathurst Sheep and Cattle Drome, Rossmore Park, Limekilns Road, Kelso, is only an eight minute drive from the centre of town. There visitors can milk a cow or sit back in air-conditioned comfort and enjoy an 80 minute show of sheep shearing and wool classing. If the weather is fine, there will be a sheep dog in action. The newest addition to the Sheep and Cattle Drome is their Golf Practice Driving Range, open daily.

Bathurst Rotalactor is a modern rotary dairy that milks over 300 cows, situated in the picturesque Dunkeld Valley. There is a large, well-appointed, indoor viewing area, a cafe specialising in dairy products, and many educational displays on various aspects of the dairy industry. To get there, take the Blayney Road for 7km, then turn right for Dunkeld.

 

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Festivals
The Bathurst 1000 Motor Race is held during the October long weekend (first Monday in October), with activities organised during the week leading up to the Race.

Facilities
There is an olympic swimming pool and water slide. Bathurst also has all the usual sporting facilities you would expect in a large town, including lawn bowls, golf course, tennis courts and squash courts.

Outlying Attractions
Orange
Situated 55km (34 miles) from Bathurst, Orange is a larger town than Bathurst, and the area produces 10% of Australia's apples, as well as cherries and other stone fruit, on the rich volcanic soil slopes of Mt Canobolas. The upper slopes of the extinct volcano are a flora and fauna reserve with picnic areas and walking trails. There is a lake in the crater, and canoeing, sailing and fishing are popular.

The Ophir gold find gave the early settlement a firm foundation, and it has grown into the largest town in the district. Bowen Terrace is a perfect and rare example of its period. The row of ironwork-decorated houses was built in 1876 by the owner of the first tannery. Endsleigh House, built in 1858, is thought to be the oldest house. The golf club is housed in the 1876 Duntryleague mansion.

A.J. (Banjo) Paterson, perhaps Australia's most popular poet and writer, was born along the Ophir Road in 1864 and an obelisk marks the spot. It is inscribed with a verse from Clancy of the Overflow.

Orange is the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture, and has a large agricultural college.

The Orange Visitor Information Centre is on corner of Byng and Peisley Streets, 6393 8226, email tourism@orange.nsw.gov.au. The website is www.orange.nsw .gov.au

Ophir
Gold was first discovered in Australia in 1951 at Ophir, approximately 40km (25 miles) from Orange. Today the area is a reserve, and trails lead to old tunnels, sluices and other relics among the hills. The reserve is, naturally enough, popular with fossickers.

Abercrombie Caves
On the Goulburn Road, 72km (45 miles) from Bathurst, is one of the smaller but most spectacular limestone cave systems in Australia. The reserve has a camping/caravan park with picnic facilities, and cave inspection times and tours vary. For more information phone 6368 8603, visit www.jenolancaves. org.au or email abercrombie@ jenolancaves.org.au

Sofala
Set amongst the steep hills of the Turon Valley, Sofala is one of the old gold rush towns. It has a quaint store and some faded old-time buildings. The Royal Hotel is the only hotel remaining of the forty which were operating during the gold rush era.

Hill End
The Parks and Wildlife Service have declared Hill End an historic site, and they publish an excellent information sheet 'Exploring Hill End Historic Site' which has a map on one side and an excellent walking tour on the other. Only a small community remains today. Miners dug up 701,000 ounces of gold here. Panning and fossicking are still popular, and gold pans may be hired in town. Hill End is 84km (52 miles) from Bathurst.

Mudgee
Situated 69km (43 miles) north of Hill End, Mudgee is the second oldest town west of the Blue Mountains, and was laid out in 1838. A score of handsome buildings, classified by the National Trust, dot the town, the oldest being the Catholic Presbytery, built in 1852. The church, St Mary's, was commenced five years later, and has an exceptional iron screen and stencilled decorations.

The Court House, St John the Baptist's Church, the Police Station and Post Office were all built in the early 1860s. The Colonial Inn Museum, Market Street, is open Sat 2-5pm, Sun, school and public holidays 10am-5pm.

Mudgee is renowned for its honey, and visitors are able to watch honey processing at two factories.
There are also many wineries in the district, and all have cellar door sales. Mudgee is well known for its fine wines, and is gaining fame for its beautiful rose gardens. There is a Days of Wine and Roses Festival each year in September/October.

Mudgee Gulgong Tourism is at 84 Market Street, 6372 1020, email tourist@mudgee.nsw. gov.au. It is open 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3.30pm Sat and 9.30am-2pm Sun.

Gulgong
Gulgong, 29km (18 miles) from Mudgee was, until the advent of plastic currency, the 'Town on the Ten Dollar Note'. It has narrow streets which wind between quaint clapboard and iron buildings, complete with verandahs and iron lace.

The Pioneers' Museum, in Medley Street, covers .4ha (1 acre) and includes an astonishing array of Australiana.

The Henry Lawson Art Gallery is open during school holidays.

The Phonograph Parlour, 69 Lee Street, has recorded sound equipment dating back to 1889.

Gold is still found around Gulgong and panning is popular.