NSW Central West Holidays

This is the birthplace of Cobb & Co which provided gold escorts, mail services, passenger and freight lines to the scattered towns and settlements during the late 1880's. Education is now the largest single industry in the town.

Motor enthusiasts will delight in driving the Mt Panorama Motor Racing circuit. Visit the Bathurst Historical Museum and the Victorian cottage of Miss Traill, a descendant of early settlers to the area who had the foresight to preserve this tangible memorial to her family.

Orange - Named after William of Orange and not the fruit. Orange is one of the few cities in Australia to receive reasonably frequent snowfalls in winter. Mt Canobolas provides stunning views of the district. It is the birthplace of poet Banjo Patterson, who wrote Waltzing Matilda.  The area produces apples, pears, and stone fruits such as cherries, peaches, apricots and plums. Visit nearby Ophir for gold fossicking.

Cowra - Located on the Lachlan River, and probably best known as a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Japanese and Italian military personnel during World War war 2. Visit the Japanese War Cemetery and the Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre. Canowindra on the road north attracts hot-air balloonists.

Forbes - also located on the Lachlan River, it is the burial place of the bushranger, Ben Hall, notorious for his daring robberies in the district. Fine imposing historic buildings still stand reflecting the status of the town during the gold rush days.

Dubbo - the Macquarie River and Troy Creek run through this city and all major roads pass through here. It is an agricultural town servicing the cattle and sheep farms of the area. Visit the Heritage Listed Old Dubbo Gaol displaying original prison artifacts, the Dundullimal Homestead, one of the oldest homesteads still standing in western NSW, the Western Plains Zoo featuring elephants and rhinos in an Australia landscape.

Mudgee - vineyards and a wine festival in September have helped to promote the growing reputation of Mudgee with lovers of gourmet food and fine wine. Mudgee is a good example of an Australian country town and rural produce from the area includes fruit, corn, olives, wheat lucerne, honey, dairy products, cattle and sheep.

This is the town where the Australian poet, Henry Lawson, spent his boyhood. It's also the birthplace of some well known TV and sports personalities. Visit Gulgong, a gold town with heritage buildings and steeped in early colonial history.

Gilgandra - situated between Dubbo and Coonabarabran, this town is a service centre for mixed farming being mainly sheep, cattle and cropping. Also contributing to the local economy are are ostriches, emus, deer, buffaloes, pigs, poultry, aquaculture and a eucalypt plantation.

It is the gateway to the sheep, wheat and cotton belt of the northern Nyngan and Coonamble regions of New South Wales. Visit the Siding Spring Observatory and the granite rock formations of the Warrumbungle National Park where rock climbing, with a permit, is allowed.

New South Wales Central West Holidays
Central West New South Wales Guide