When Edward Hargraves arrived in Bathurst in May 1851 and announced that “from the foot of the Big Hill to a considerable distance below Wellington on the Macquarie River, is one vast gold field” many felt he may have been exaggerating.
Instead it turned out that he was underestimating the extent of the golden riches across the Lachlan Fold Belt region of central and south west NSW.
During the latter part of the 1800s, gold changed everything in central and south west NSW. Neither the social nor the natural landscapes of the region escaped the radical transformations that the influx of miners brought with them.
Social echoes like the bushrangers and the tragedy of Sgt Parry’s murder near Jugiong are today the focus of gold trails’ experiences. [Parry Memorial, Jugiong shown above top].
Elsewhere mining landscapes like O’Brien’s Hill at Grenfell [above] still stand as open space surrounding relics of a mining industry that continued into the 20th century long after the boom days had passed.
Walk among these places and discover the miners’ machinery, relics and abandoned mineshafts quietly being reclaimed by the soils and shrubs rising around them.
There’s nothing like a guided tour to begin to appreciate just how things fit together on a goldfield.
At Cadia Mine [above left] near Orange you can experience first hand a modern goldmine that is today generating more gold in a year than the whole of the NSW goldfields did even at the peak of the 1872 golden boom.
The Barrick Cowal Open Cut Goldmine [above centre] can be explored as part of the Bland Shire Heritage Tour exploring the rich goldfield hiistroy of West Wyalong.
Tours of the former Peak Hill open cut mine [above right] north of Parkes are another major Gold Trails attraction.
To go underground and experience an 1870s mine first hand, don’t miss out on the Bald Hill Mine tours at Hill End Historic Site 80km north-west from Bathurst.
While the painted murals at Eugowra celebrating the 1862 hold up of the gold coach at Escort Rock are unusual on the gold trails, you can explore many artistic media on your visit.
Photography will be the first choice for many, following in the footsteps of the 1870s pioneer goldfield shutterbugs Beaufoy Merlin and Charles Bayliss.
Then there is verse and prose to explore after the manner of writers like Henry Lawson, who was born on the Grenfell goldfield in 1867.
A very special feature of artistic life on the goldfields today is the Hill End artists in residence initiative. As well as being open to artists to participate, special open days allow everyone to appreciate the fruits of the program.
The journey to the diggings has always been an integral part of the goldfield experience. First there were the miners streaming in as news spread of a new discovery and the rush was on to peg out some good ground before it was all taken up.
Then came the correspondents armed with their notepads and pens to feed a waiting public hungry for news of the goldfields.
Not all the towns and villages of central and south-west NSW sprang up as a result of gold.
Carcoar for example was well established as the second largest town of the region after Bathurst at the time gold seekers started travelling through. In time though – like most towns – it became associated with the surrounding goldfields.
In such settings you can easily look out and imagine the sounds of the hooves in the dust as Johnny Gilbert, Johnny O’Meally and Ben Hall rode up to attempt a daring daylight robbery of the Commercial Bank in the town’s main street in 1863.
Every town across the gold trails region has its own echoes. These are usually best listened to via an early morning, pre-breakfast stroll on a short break.
