Central West New South Wales Travel

The Central West New South Wales region contains some of the oldest cities on the inland side of the Blue Mountains. The area is known for its produce, including cold climate fruits and wines. It contains some of the best restaurants in New South Wales outside of Sydney.

The region is mainly farmland, and the main agricultural products are lamb, beef, and wheat.

Founded in 1815 as the first inland European settlement on the Australian continent, Bathurst quickly became a regional centre of outback expansion and became an exceedingly wealthy town during the first wave of the Australian gold rush in the 1850s

Orange has a population of approximately 40,000 people and is one of the older towns in inland New South Wales. The one square mile village of Orange was established in 1841, and grew quickly due to Australia's first payable gold discovery in 1851 in nearby Ophir and later due to agricultural output.

Cities and Major Towns of the Central West

• Bathurst
• Dubbo
• Lithgow
• Orange
• Coolah
• Cowra
• Canowindra
• Hill End
• Mudgee

Things to See at the Central West

• Mount Canobolas west of Orange. Mount Canobolas is the remnant of a volcanic plug, and is the highest point in the district. There are several quarter- and half-day walks on the slopes.
• The Japanese Gardens in Cowra
• The interesting historical gold mining towns of Sofala and Hill End are about an hours drive away from Bathurst if you want to try your luck panning for gold.

• Bathurst
  • Holy Trinity Church, Kelso - the first inland church in Australia, built to serve the Anglican parish of Kelso that was founded in 1825. It was the first Australian church consecrated by a bishop and is built on a hill overlooking Bathurst, surrounded by an historical cemetery. Gilmour Street, Kelso, NSW 2795. Phone (02) 6332 4606. Opening Times: Sundays 1:30pm - 4:00pm or by arrangement.
  • The Bathurst 1000. The Bathurst 1000 is an annual 1000km motor race for touring cars in the V8 supercar class, held once a year at Mount Panorama just outside Bathurst. The weekend of the Bathurst 1000 attracts Bathurst's largest contingent of visitors.
• Dubbo
  • The Western Plains Zoo, Obley Road, ph 02 6882 5888, [2]. Opening hours 9AM-5PM. This large open range zoo, one of the finest zoos in New South Wales, has both exotic and native animals, including elephants, giraffes, and the rare black rhinos currently the focus of a breeding program at the zoo. The Zoo is quite large, and it is both useful and fun to hire a bicycle to get around. Admission is $27 adults, $14 children 4-15, $19 concessions and free for children under 4. Tickets are valid for entry on two consecutive days.
• Lithgow
• Orange