Abercrombie Gold Trail – Goulburn to Bathurst

Situated two hours south of Sydney, Goulburn is a thriving city rich in colonial and gold heritage with a vast number of historic buildings.

For many years Tarago was a staging post and railhead for the southern line. Today the village boasts a number of historical buildings, particularly the Loaded Dog Hotel.

From its elevated position atop the Great Dividing Range, the historic town of Crookwell governs green rolling hills and features pretty tree-lined streets, beautiful gardens and plenty of streams for trout fishing. Explore architectural remnants of early-settler life in buildings dating back to the mid-19th century and visit the Wind Farm observation bay to see Crookwell’s contribution to the 21st century.

An aboriginal word meaning “big” or “deep water”. Many water holes along Binda Creek exist and were used by the Gandangara people whose tribal lands stretched from Binda towards Taralga, Mittagong and Oberon.

Nestled in a picturesque valley between Goulburn and Bathurst, Tuena is an ideal destination for those who prefer the simple pleasures. Visitors can enjoy camping, fishing, gold fossicking, bushwalking, swimming or just a strolling about the village seeking out the old buildings, many of them built during the goldrush era. Tuena is within easy reach of Abercrombie Caves (20kms) and Grove Creek Falls (15kms) to the north.

The Gold-rush started in the Abercrombie Caves area in 1851 in the mines at the nearby Mount Gray. The huge Abercrombie Archway provided a large natural shelter for the miners and more than a century ago, they built a platform for dances in one of the main galleries. Today the historic dance floor is used as a stage for underground concerts, weddings and Christmas carols.

Trunkey Creek is a lovely old gold mining village. The hills around Trunkey Creek is honeycombed with abandoned mine shafts and mullock heaps and together with the crumbling mud huts and brick chimneys are the only remains of the goldrush age. Gold can still be obtained from the quartz rocks that were left lying around the old mullock heaps.

Set in a farming community Newbridge developed mainly from the railway arriving and the construction of the Railway Station in November,1876. On opening the station was originally called ‘Back Creek’. The name was changed in April 1878 to ‘Newbridge’ with various explanations as to how the name came about.

Bathurst offers a wealth of gold trails heritage including the iconic Hills End Historical Village where the roaring early days of the gold rush come to life and the Bald Hills Tourist Mine where you can step into an original 1870s mine shaft and walk in the steps of the original colonial goldminer.

Sofala was one of the Bathurst area’s most successful goldmining towns. Gold was still Sofala’s primary industry right up to the 1940s. Today, you can still fossick for gold dust in the Turon River.

Discover the enduring legacy of colonial New South Wales and the roaring early days of the gold rush at the iconic Hill End Historic Site. With its museum displays and many preserved buildings, Hill End offers fascinating insight into the 19th-century gold rush.