Our Region

Bathurst History

Bathurst is Australia's oldest inland settlement. Discovered in 1813 by William Evans is was originally home to the Wiradjuri tribe. In 1815 Bathurst was proclaimed a town on the banks of the Macquarie River by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, where today the fountain Cairn marks the spot. The Heritage Wall surrounding the cairn was commenced in 1988 to recognise pioneers who contributed to the development of Bathurst as a major rural centre. Bathurst received it name in honour of the Secretary of State for the colonies, Lord Bathurst.

The Bathurst area produced the first grapes and hops in Australia. The wine from the grapes proved too dry for the sweeter English palate. The grape-growing later moved to the Mudgee area. The hops were most successful in the production of beer, which led to the Bathurst Brewery and the beginning of an ongoing development of this popular Australian drink. Wine in Bathurst today is grown on higher points around the city and is receiving acclamation for its style that is reminiscence of the French. Honey from the great yellow box forests that abound in the Bathurst and Mudgee districts set a new standard of quality. The flavour and viscosity of Australian honey shocked the European honey consumers. European honey is insipid by comparison.

Land grants were first made on the eastern bank of the Macquarie River from 1818. The village of Kelso arose there to cater for the needs of the settlers. At this early stage no-one was allowed access to the western bank of the Macquarie except officers, soldiers, and convicts. In 1826 these restrictions to were lifted and the plans for Bathurst were drafted by Assistant Surveyor J B Richards, with the first sale of town blocks being held in 1833.

Rapid growth to the town did not start until gold was found in the 1850's and 60's. In 1852 Bathurst was proclaimed a town and in 10 years later in 1862 incorporated as a municipality and finally a city in 1885.  The first gold in Australia was discovered in the Bathurst district by James McBrien near what is now Tarana in 1823. The largest piece of reef gold on record was found by Bernard Holtermann and Louis Beyer in 1872 near Hill End which allowed Bathurst to become the first gold centre for the country taking in most gold from Ophir, Hill End and Sofala of which at the height of the gold rush had more than 250,000 inhabitants.

Kelso, the town on the eastern side of the Macquarie river opposite Bathurst is home to the Holy Trinity Church which was the first church built west of the Nepean River and started in 1825 and completed in 1835. It was the first church to be consecrated by a Bishop. The church contains the grave of J. Byrne Richards who was the town planner of Bathurst and Melbourne.

The famous company of Cobb & Co had its national headquarters in Bathurst from 1862 after James Rutherford bought the company which started in Victoria with Freeman Cobb. Cobb & Co was a mail and passenger service linking the Sydney, Melbourne and all that was in between. Another successful and historic company to find its roots in Bathurst was Edgell. Robert Edgell and his sons were the pioneers of irrigation, cultivation and fertilisation of crops and orchards in Bathurst. Also, the canning, dehydration and freezing of perishable goods. We have the Edgell family to thank for the cultivation of asparagus in Australia.

Over time Bathurst has hosted many Famous people including Queen Elizabeth II twice with her first visit in 1954 and the second in 1982. Charles Darwin the distinguished English biologist and author of The Origin of the Species - (about his work on evolution) made a visit to Bathurst in 1836.

Bathurst is the birth place of Ben Chifley, Australia's 16th Prime Minister. Ben Chifley was a railway engine driver in Bathurst, and is one of the most highly regarded of Australia’s Prime Ministers serving from 1945 to 1949. Chifley was the first son of an Irish Catholic blacksmith born in 1885. As a boy, he spent nine years on his grandfather's small farm at Limekilns where his education suffered because the local school opened only two or three days a week. But Chifley became an avid reader, even poring over a book while waiting to bat in cricket matches.

Bathurst has been the home to some great innovation and one such example is the x-ray. The first x-ray for medical purposes in Australia was taken by Father James Slattery at St Stanislaus College on the 21st September, 1896. The x-ray showed the location of gunshot in the shattered hand of an ex-student. Father Slattery was also the first man west of Sydney to transmit a radio message. The transmission in 1904, went from the college tower to the tower of the Cathedral of St Michael and John, and then to the Catholic Presbytery in Kelso, a distance of about five miles.

Limekilns History

Limekilns is about 25km north east of Bathurst and follow the Limekilns Road north will get you to Wattle Flat and the the historic gold mining town of Sofala. In the mid 1800's property crime was rife in the area, the Kessey brothers were taking advantage of the harsh Australian conditions. Thomas Kessey was transported to Australia as a convict under his birth name Thomas Cassey in 1818 arriving on the General Stewart. His three eldest sons fell foul of the law and spent time in gaol, both at Bathurst and Darlinghurst. Thomas and James, aged 31 and 24, were convicted of robbery under arms in relation to two separate hold ups that occurred in 1864. Both hold ups involved three masked men, with Thomas Kessey convicted in relation to the robbery of two stage coaches between Bathurst and Orange in June and James convicted in relation to the subsequent robbery of a well known grazier on the Limekilns Road. Each brother was sentenced to ten years hard labour, served at Darlinghurst Gaol and Cockatoo Island.