Page 20 - Go55s summer web

Country Towns

Bathurst

A History of Making History!
A n old town with a young heart – iconic Mount Panorama, acknowledged

that’s how the locals see Bathurst.
as the home of Australian motor racing,
Walcha people for many thousands of years, the design innovation that takes each successive
An important area to the Wiradjuri continues to showcase the engineering and
Bathurst region was selected by Governor race to ever greater heights of excitement!

Art in all forms Lachlan Macquarie in May 1815 as the site for Today there are plans afoot to build upon
what would become the first inland European this legacy with a proposed second track
settlement in Australia. The original small and a research and development hub. There
town became the centre of the fledgling is no doubt that the future of Bathurst is
colony’s first great food bowl of the Bathurst going to be exciting!
Plains, and was the base for many of the early Today, Bathurst proudly embraces its
European explorers of inland NSW. heritage and it is easily experienced by
For the past 200 years, the Bathurst visitors. The city boasts world class museums
region has never stopped making history in including the Australian Fossil and Mineral
ever new areas, and contributing to the great Museum, National Motor Racing Museum
Australian experience. Bushrangers roamed and the Chifley Home – residence of former
the district in its earliest days, including the Prime Minister Ben Chifley. Exploring the
infamous Ribbon Gang. The announcement surrounding villages of Bathurst can feel
of the discovery of gold in the 1850s led to like a trip back in time, as you take in the
the great gold rush years and the booming character of Hill End, Sofala or Rockley.
of Bathurst as a town, including as the A walk through the CBD of Bathurst itself
national headquarters for the great Cobb takes the visitor past historic building after
& Co company. However this increased historic building separated only by the
prosperity brought problems with it, as a beautifully maintained parks and gardens
new generation of bushrangers including that the city has rightly become renowned
Ben Hall targeted the transportation of gold for. Yet Bathurst is also has the convenience
and the now thriving local businesses. and comforts of a modern city, boasting a
Bathurst has a strong tradition of vibrant café culture with outstanding food
innovation and of ‘firsts’. The first inland and wine. But you will still find Bathurst
Explore our art, food, culture, settlement was also the site of the first exemplifies the friendliness and sense of
church built west of the Nepean River, the welcome that has defined regional NSW.
natural wonders and rich heritage first medical X-ray taken in Australia and (of A region with four distinct seasons, each
supreme importance) produced the first with its own charm and character, there are
grapes and hops in Australia beginning a so many reasons to visit Bathurst, and so
Walcha Visitor Information Centre. P: 02 6774 2460 walchansw.com.au
tradition of producing outstanding wines many reasons to stay just a little longer.
and craft beer that continues today. The www.visitbathurst.com.au

20 Summer 2017 | The Go55s Newspaper