CABONNE Countryaustralia’S Food Basket
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CABONNE COUNTRYAustralia’s Food Basket A History of Canowindra .........................................................................3 A History of Cudal .....................................................................................4 A History of Eugowra ...............................................................................4 A History of Molong ..................................................................................5 Things you need to know ........................................................................6 All that Cabonne has to Offer ................................................................7 Cultural Services ............................................................................................7 Communications ............................................................................................8 Migrant Support .............................................................................................8 Transport ........................................................................................................9 Main Industry of the Cabonne Region .......................................................10 Accommodation ...........................................................................................11 Real Estate ....................................................................................................12 Childcare ......................................................................................................13 Education .....................................................................................................14 Higher Education .........................................................................................15 Employment Agencies ................................................................................16 Attractions/ Things to Do ............................................................................17 Sporting Clubs/Associations ......................................................................18 Community Groups/Associations ..............................................................20 Churches/Religious Services ......................................................................21 Financial Institutions ...................................................................................22 Services and Trades ....................................................................................22 Retail Services .............................................................................................29 A Better Life BlayneyHeritage Country Cafes/Restaurants .......................................................................................33 CAFÉS ...........................................................................................................33 RESTAURANTS ............................................................................................33 TAKEAWAYS ................................................................................................33 Clubs/Hotels .................................................................................................34 Medical Services ..........................................................................................35 The Country Careers Program.............................................................39 Health Service Details .................................................................................40 GWAHS Learning & Development Division ......................................41 The Institute of Rural Clinical Services and Teaching (IRCST) 42 Acknowledgements ................................................................................43 Created by: Catherine Deverell Country Careers Coordinator May 2008 A Better Life CABONNE COUNTRYAustralia’s Food Basket A History of Canowindra Canowindra describes itself as 'The Balloon Capital of Australia' as more flights are said to take place here annually than anywhere else in Australia. It is testimony to the strength of the association that Balloon Aloft have made the town its headquarters due to the gentle winds and the open and attractive countryside crisscrossed by roadways for balloon recovery. In spite of this apparent modernity Canowindra is, in fact, a genuine old-style Australian country town. The main thoroughfare, Gaskill St, stills follows the crooked route of the old bullock track, reflecting the informal and piecemeal early development of the town. The many verandahs and old buildings contribute to the antiquated air. Indeed the entire commercial section of Gaskill St has been classified as a Heritage Preservation Area by the National Trust. The town is located in a natural basin on the Belubula River, 330 km west of Sydney via Bathurst, 32 km north of Cowra. Built on rich river flats it functions as a service centre to the surrounding district which produces lucerne, wheat, wool and fat lambs. The current population is around 1700. The term 'Canowindra' derives from the language of the Wiradjuri People who occupied the area prior to white settlement. It is said to mean 'home' or 'camping place'. One of the first white settlers was James Collits who was recorded as occupying land at 'Canoundra' in 1831, though he may have arrived as early as 1829. Governor Fitzroy crossed the river here in 1836 or 1846 depending on which source you believe. The Canowindra Inn was established in 1849 and a settlement developed in a piecemeal fashion around this nucleus. The town was surveyed in 1860. In 1863 Canowindra was twice raided by Ben Hall's bushranging gang, which then included the notorious Johnny Gilbert. They robbed two nearby station homesteads then moved on to the town where they forced the residents, and the local policeman, into Robinson's Hotel, holding an impromptu and compulsory party. They returned two weeks later, after raiding Bathurst, this time holding the townsfolk at Robinson's for three days of merriment, reputedly at their own expense. The site is now occupied by the Royal Hotel. A plaque on the side of the Royal notes the historical associations. Lucerne, which became a vital crop in the 1950s, was first grown in 1863. The first road bridge was built in 1874. The railway arrived in 1888. Distinguished Australian novelist Kylie Tennant stayed at the Canowindra Hotel in Gaskill St in the 1930s, writing her novel Tiburon while her husband 3 A Better Life Cabonne Australia’s Country Food Basket taught at the local school. 360-million-year-old fish fossils of world importance were found 9 km to the south-west of town in 1956. Another major dig occurred in 1993. A History of Cudal Two factors contributed greatly to the emergence of the village of Cudal. One was the "free selection" laws of the 1860's; the other was the discovery of gold at Forbes and the movement of the diggers to the goldfields. Cudal, with its Boree Creek crossing an impassable hazard for many days during wet weather, and being roughly halfway from Orange to Eugowra, was naturally recognised as a suitable and practical stop over. Cudal is the home to domestic airline Hazelton Airlines, which was established by the Hazelton family in 1953. A History of Eugowra Eugowra is a sleepy little town of some 670 people adjacent to Mandagery Creek in the Lachlan River Basin. It is situated 271 metres above sea-level, 348 km west of Sydney and 39 km west of Forbes. Granite from the low-lying hills around the town was used in the construction of Parliament House. The area was occupied by the Wiradjuri people before white settlement. The first European in the area was Surveyor Evans who came within 10 km of Eugowra in 1815. Two years later John Oxley's party passed through the area while engaged on one of the first inland expeditions. 'Eugowra' station was established in 1834. The name is said to derive from an Aboriginal word meaning 'the place where the sand washes down from the hills'. Sheep, wheat and lucerne were established on the property in later years. The village developed in the 1860s on the old station, around a bridge over Mandagery Creek which formed part of the route to the Lachlan goldfields. There were 24 recorded residents in 1866. The John Bull Inn was built to serve the through-traffic in the 1860s. It was replaced by the present-day Fat Lamb Hotel. A bridge was erected over Mandagery Creek in 1869, thereby increasing the road traffic and contributing to local development. The town was laid out in 1881 with a courthouse, police station and school being built. A road across wheatfields near The Robertson Land Act eventually broke Eugowra up the large squatting runs and closer settlement ensued. The most famous incident in local history was the occasion in 1862 when Frank Gardiner's bushranging gang, then including the infamous Ben Hall, 4 A Better Life Cabonne Australia’s Country Food Basket undertook Australia's largest gold robbery at Eugowra Rocks. Commandeering two bullock teams they blocked the road and made the drivers lie on the road, feigning drunkenness. When the gold escort arrived, the gang sprayed the coach with a hail of gunfire, wounding two of the troopers who all fled the scene while the gang made off with the booty - 77 kg of gold and £3700 in cash. Hall was caught and held charged but he was released when a captured gang member refused to name Hall as one of the participants in the robbery. A History of Molong Molong is a pleasant country town of some 1730 people in the hills of the Macquarie Range, 301 km north-west of Sydney and 529 m above sea-level.