There was a lot of gold mining activity around Harden – Murrumburrah extending from the late 1850s well into the 20th century.
In this it had much in common many regional centres across central and south west NSW, most of whom have had a gold mine or two to call their own at some time.
What few other townships can share however is the spotlight that focussed on the region in the opening years of the 1860s.
It was from Murrumburrah that news of a stunning new goldfield just to the north at a paddock called Lambing Flat first surfaced in spring 1860. This was the beginnings of the Burrangong goldfield which soon expanded to include a large tract of the surrounding countryside. In the anti-Chinese riots on the Lambing Flat field across late 1860 – 61 Murrumburrah played a central role as a refuge for the Chinese fleeing from the violence.
No sooner did this violence subside than the bushranger scourge led by Johnny Gilbert and Ben Hall descended on the region. The guerilla warfare that followed was especially centred upon the countyside and rolling landscapes around Murrumburrah.
