South-Western Gold Trail – Gundagai to West Wyalong

Gundagai – Jugiong – Yass (opt) – Binalong – Harden – Young (opt) – Wallendbeen – Cootamundra (opt) – Temora – Barmedman – West Wyalong – Mirool (opt)

Highlights

  • Police graves of Sgt Parry and S/C Bowen (Gundagai)

  • Grave of Captain Moonlite (Gundagai)

  • Memorials to Sgt Parry, shot by Ben Hall’s gang (Jugiong)

  • Former Cobb & Co offices (Yass)

  • Early Police centre for bushranging (Yass)

  • Grave of bushranger John Gilbert (Binalong)

  • Haunts of bushrangers Hall and Gilbert (Harden area)

  • Chinese graves and Gold Trails museum (Harden)

  • Scene of Lambing Flats riots (Young area)

  • Chinese Gardens and Chinaman’s Dam (Young)

  • Site of Barnes’ shooting by Ben Hall’s gang (Wallendbeen)

  • Old gold fields and historical museum (Temora)

  • Mineral pool in old gold diggings (Barmedman)

  • Old poppet head and historical museum (Wyalong)

Show On Map

Distance 265km
Travel Time 3 hours

Show On Map

Gundagai

 

Gold Mining and Agriculture made Gundagai both prosperous and a centre for bushranging, which is immortalised through poems and songs such as Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox, and Along the Road to Gundagai that has gave the town a romantic bush appeal. Gundagai is perhaps most famous for its monument to the early pioneers, the iconic Dog on the Tuckerbox, situated on the Hume Highway, 5 miles (8 kms) north of Gundagai.

Jugiong

Jugiong is a historic township that grew around the Sir George Tavern – an important coaching stop. As gold was found in the area, the long, lonely roads around Jugiong became ideal locations for bushrangers. On 16 November 1864 Johnny Gilbert, Ben Hall and John Dunn held up a mail coach 5km from Jugiong. In the ensuing melee Sgt Edmund Parry was shot and killed.

Yass

 

Yass was centre stage to the goldfield sagas as they unfolded throughout the 1850s and 60s. As a major outpost on the main southern road, keeping this artery intact and relatively safe for gold escorts was a major part of the life of the town from as early as 1853.

Binalong

The seemingly randomly arrayed village centre of Binalong is one of the most charming in Australia, with the old general store, bank and classic country hotel evoking a placid setting for a village once beyond the limits of civilisation of the early colony.

Harden

Harden and Murrumburrah have a delightful old-world feel. The Shire has a rich gold rush history including many encounters with Bushrangers including the shooting of Sargent Parry in the Shire village of Jugiong.

Young (optional)

Echoes of Lambing Flat can be seen in the buildings and heritage sites of modern day Young. Enjoy the serenity of the Chinese Tribute Garden, soak up a festival, pick your own cherries, peaches and plums or sample award winning Hilltops Region wines.

Wallendbeen

Surrounded by some of the richest agricultural land in Australia, Wallendbeen is a small village located just 22 km north of Cootamundra. A sense of ‘community’ is central to life in Wallendbeen, with the historic Wallendbeen Hotel acting as the social hub of the village. A beautifully maintained sporting oval, and newly upgraded tennis facilities enable Wallendbeen to host a variety of local and regional sporting events.

Cootamundra (optional)

Cootamundra is the birthplace of cricket’s greatest batsman, Sir Donald Bradman. This important railway town surrounded by crops of canola is popular with nature lovers who come to see the extravagant blooming of countless Cootamundra wattle trees in July and August.

Temora

With over 20,000 people thronging to the gold diggings at Temora the district was proclaimed a gold field on June 4, 1880. Some large discoveries were made, including the famous Mother Shipton nugget, a facsimile of which appears in the Rock and Mineral Museum section of Temora Rural Museum.

Barmedman

Barmedman is a village of the Bland Shire famous for the mineral pool, which originated from the flooding of the Barmedman goldmines by an underground stream in the 1880’s. The pool is situated on a four-hectare reserve and is said to have some healing properties due to its high mineral content.

Wyalong

 

Wyalong is located 4.4 kilometres from West Wyalong and is a historic town from the late gold rush years of the 1890’s. In 1894 the government agreed to survey a town that would support the increasing growth resulting from the gold rush to this area. The location of the town was subject to disagreement between the government officials and the miners, who favoured a site on the western side of the diggings.

West Wyalong

West Wyalong is an attractive country town which many hundreds of thousands of people pass through each year. It is rich in the history and romance of the past. In their heyday the gold fields of West Wyalong were the largest fields in the country.

Mirrool (optional)

Mirrool is located South of West Wyalong on the Newell Highway. Mirrool is the home of the Mirrool Silo Kick, a hotly contested football kicking competition held on the 2nd Saturday in October each year. The area has a colourful history of settlement, squatters and bushrangers.