Yass was a town that was centre stage to the goldfield sagas as they unfolded throughout the 1850s and 60s. While there were regular reports of small gold discoveries in and around the town, it never did manage to produce a major goldfield in its own right.
Small scale mining operations at places like Wee Jasper, Bookham and Nanima as well as other sites around the region were part of the local landscape. In town the commercial centre was often the last port of call for supplies and equipment for people heading off to the major 1860s fields like Kiandra and Lambing Flat (Burrangong).
At this time Yass was a major outpost on the main southern road and keeping this artery intact and relatively safe for both travellers and gold escorts alike was a major part of the life of the town.
YASS DISTRICT MUSEUM has a great collection of information and objects from the past. Passionate volunteers share their knowledge with visitors and can always find something of local interest to impart.
247A Comur Street, Yass NSW 2582 (next to the Yass Valley Visitor Information Centre) Entry fees – Adult $5 Children $1
Open: Weekends and Public Holidays 10.00am – 4.00pm
From as early as 1853 for example getting the gold safely out of the Ovens Field just beyond Albury and safely up to Sydney was a major problem. As a newspaper report in January noted on the departure of the gold escort from Sydney: “a very large quantity of gold is waiting at the Ovens for transmission to Sydney, and it is by no means improbable that the Escort may return with a ton weight of gold.”
Challenging though these early gold deliveries were for law enforcement in southern NSW, the scale of the problem increased dramatically with the development of the rich goldfields around Young and also Forbes in the early 1860s and the corresponding rise of the bushranger gangs as headlined by Frank Gardiner, Johnny Gilbert and Ben Hall.
These were the days that would place Yass centre stage on the battle to maintain law and order across southern NSW.