Bathurst Attractions

Bathurst (pop. 27,5000) is the oldest Australian settlement in the interior, laid out with streets broad enough for an ox cart to turn. It has handsome Victorian buildings and trees brought in from Britain.

After the discovery of the route through the Blue Mountains and the construction of the first road Governor Macquarie visited the new territory in 1815, selected the site for a settlement and named it after the colonial secretary of the day, Lord Bathurst. In 1851 the first large finds of gold were made at Ophir, 35 km from the town, and by 1871 Bathurst had a population of 17,000 and was the headquarters of Cobb's mailcoach company.