Binalong and Yass were two gateway villages for the goldfields in the 1860s. Binalong was the police base for the district that included Young and the Lambing Flat (Burrangong) diggings. Yass was the major town on the main southern road with a major district court and police presence.

These two places were closely connected with the bushranger predations of the early 1860s and the battle for control of the state’s highways.

Binalong in particular is noted as both the final battleground and resting place of the bushranger Johnny Gilbert who died here on 13 May 1865. Originally a member of the Frank Gardiner gang that held up the gold escort at Eugowra in 1862, Gilbert went on over the following two years to unleash a reign of violent insurrection across south west NSW in the company of Ben Hall and others.

The police finally caught up with him and Johnny Dunn at Binalong. While Dunn escaped that day, Gilbert did not and was killed in the affray. His body was quickly interred in the then police horse paddock. Today you can visit the site located 1km west of the town on the Harden Road.

Below: Scene of Gilbert’s death. Reeproduced courtesy State Library of Victoria: IMP24/06/65/81

The grave of Johnny Gilbert is a major heritage site on the Gold Trails, set in a poignant enclosure immediately off the main road just west of Binalong.

Part of any visit to the Gold Trails includes the opportunity to appreciate how the landscapes you encounter today have changed and evolved since the late 1800s.

Below: 1. Road bridge built in 1871, Yass. (Call no: ON 4 Box 35 No 10. Digital:a2824657. 2. Panorama of Yass c. 1875. Call No ON 4 Box 69 NO 1039. Digital a2825292. Reproduced courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW.

One of the things we take for granted today is the relatively safe and secure access modern roads provide for us across the landscape. Seeing the main southern road running through the heart of Yass here c. 1875 reminds one this was not always the case.

Just ten years prior to this photo being taken, Ben Hall and Johnny Gilbert had effectively taken control of this corridor as it wound south west from Goulburn, in the process reducing many a traveller to penury as they were robbed of all the funds upon which they relied to continue their journey.

Similarly essential infrastructure like the new bridge seen here was often a long time coming, meaning in wet weather many a journey was forced to break off and wait for flood waters to subside before being able to cross swollen creeks and rivers.