| Hill End New South Wales | |
|---|---|
 Hill End, 2014 | |
  Hill End | |
| Coordinates | 33°02′0″S149°25′0″E / 33.03333°S 149.41667°E |
| Population | 102 (2016 census) [1] |
| Postcode(s) | 2850 |
| Location | |
| LGA(s) | Bathurst Regional Council |
Hill End is a former gold mining town in New South Wales, Australia. The town is located in the Bathurst Regional Council local Government area.
What is now Hill End was originally a part of the Tambaroora area; Tambaroora town was a few kilometres to the north of present-day Hill End. In the 1850s the Hill End area was known as Bald Hills. In 1860 a village was proclaimed, first as Forbes, then in 1862 it was altered to Hill End. [2] Tambaroora had been the larger centre; in 1865, it had seven public houses to Hill End's two. [3] Following the discovery of rich gold reefs at Hawkins Hill (Hill End), in the early 1870s, Hill End overtook Tambaroora as the main town in the area. [4]
Hill End owes its existence to the New South Wales gold rush of the 1850s, and at its peak in the early 1870s it had a population estimated at 8,000 served by two newspapers, five banks, eight churches and twenty-eight pubs.[ citation needed ]
The town's decline when the gold gave out was dramatic: by 1945 the population was 700. At the 2006 census, Hill End had a population of 166, which dropped to 80 people during the year 2017. The photographer Beaufoy Merlin recorded daily life in the town at its peak; his photographs can be found in the town museum/visitor information centre. The glass plate negatives are held in the State Library of New South Wales.
In October 1862 the Telegraph line reached Hill End (Tambaroora) from Bathurst via Sofala, the Telegraph Office opened for telegraph messages bringing the remote town into instant contact with the rest of the Colony. [5] Prior to this event communications took 12 hours by the mail stagecoach to Bathurst.
After delays due to lack of materials a telephone line was installed into Hill End in 1914; after 60 years of Morse code telegraph messages Hill End could now speak to adjacent towns and even Sydney if necessary. [6] [7]
In 1923 a telephone exchange was installed at the Hill End Post Office; before this calls could only be made from the Post Office to other towns. The exchange allowed new telephones installed in businesses and private homes to connect locally and to other towns. [8]
In the late 1940s Hill End was discovered by artists Russell Drysdale, who painted possibly his best-known work, The cricketers there, and Donald Friend, and it quickly became an artists' colony. Other artists who worked there included Jean Bellette. [9] Today, the Hill End artist-in-residence program aims to ensure the continuity of this connection.
Hill End has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
The Hill End & Tambaroora Gathering Group has been in existence since the 1930s. Their goal is to provide information on the life, the families and events of a bygone era and to connect their worldwide community of descendants who have an affiliation to the district. Their website contains transcriptions of many primary records, listing names of the early miners and pioneers, that may not appear in the more mainstream family history resources. [13]
Hill End is classified as a historical site by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). However, it is still home to a handful of residents operating the local pub, general store, cake store and antique store. The NPWS runs a museum just off the main road which contains many original photos and items of equipment from the busy days of the gold rush. A more extensive museum, the privately owned History Hill, is located a few kilometres from the town on the Bathurst Road.
NPWS has installed signs around the town to give visitors an idea of what was once in place on the now empty lots of land. Currently only a handful of buildings remain in their original form. However, most of those buildings still serve the purpose they did back during the gold rush. Access to the town's lookouts is via gravel roads. A walking track in the town leads to a mine and other ruins.
The most popular tourist activity in Hill End is gold panning with some of the older members of the community running gold panning tours in the same fossicking areas that yielded the gold which brought on the gold rush. Metal detectors or gold panning are not allowed within the historic site; however, there is a fossicking area just past the cemetery off the Mudgee Road.
The Royal Hotel and the local "bed and breakfasts" offer accommodation and there are a number of camping options within the town limits.
The Bridle Track runs from Duramana (north of Bathurst) directly to the town centre of Hill End. Generally the track can be classified as an easy 4WD track. The Bridle Track begins as a narrow tar-covered road; however, it later changes to dirt. Much of the last 20 kilometres (12 mi) is single lane.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service provides several camping sites. [14]
Bathurst is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Bathurst is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council. Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in Australia and had a population of 37,396 in 2021.
Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is 254 km (158 mi) west of the state capital, Sydney [206 km (128 mi) on a great circle], at an altitude of 862 metres (2,828 ft). Orange had an urban population of 41,920 at the 2021 Census, making the city a significant regional centre. A significant nearby landmark is Mount Canobolas with a peak elevation of 1,395 m (4,577 ft) AHD and commanding views of the district. Orange is situated within the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri Nation.
Mudgee is a town in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley 261 km (162 mi) north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area as well as being the council seat. At the 2021 Census, its population was 11,457. The district lies across the edge of the geological structure known as the Sydney Basin.
Great Western Highway is a 202-kilometre-long (126 mi) state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands.
Forbes is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the Newell Highway between Parkes and West Wyalong. At the 2021 census, Forbes had a population of 9,319. Forbes is probably named after Sir Francis Forbes, first Chief Justice of NSW.
Sofala is a village in New South Wales, Australia, 255 kilometres (158 mi) north-west of Sydney, within Bathurst Regional Council. It is located beside the Turon River. Sofala is just off the Bathurst-Ilford Road, with only local traffic through the town itself. At the 2006 census, Sofala had a population of 208.
Ilford is a village in New South Wales, Australia, beside the Crudine River within the Mid-Western Regional Council. It is located on the Castlereagh Highway, about 220 kilometres north-west of Sydney. At the 2016 census Ilford and the surrounding rural district had a population of 187, living in 65 private dwellings. The district also included 43 unoccupied private dwellings. Ilford was named after the English township of Ilford, from where early residents of the locality originated.
The Central West is a region in central New South Wales, Australia. The region is situated west of Sydney, which stretches from Lithgow in the east and to as far west as Lake Cargelligo, on the Lachlan River. The Central West is known for its attractions such as the Jenolan Caves, near Oberon and also wineries, as well as rural farmland and natural landscapes. The region includes major towns like, Bathurst, Orange, Mudgee, Lithgow, Parkes and Cowra. It has an area of 63,262 square kilometres (24,426 sq mi). The region also includes the sub-region known as the Central Tablelands, located in the eastern part of the region. The region known as the Orana, which includes the area surrounding Dubbo is typically classed as being a part of the Central West also.
Bathurst-Ilford Road is a 72.0-kilometre (44.7 mi) New South Wales country road linking Ilford to the regional hub of Bathurst.
Rylstone is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in the Central Tablelands region within the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area. It is located on the Bylong Valley Way road route. At the 2021 census, Rylstone had a population of 904.
Evans Shire was a local government area which encircled the City of Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was established on 1 October 1977 after the City of Bathurst, Abercrombie Shire and Turon Shire were divided between Bathurst City and Evans Shire. It was dissolved on 26 May 2004.
During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of New South Wales had suppressed the news out of the fear that it would reduce the workforce and destabilise the economy.
In 2013 Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia celebrated 200 years from its naming as a town in 1813. Over the 200 years significant milestones have occurred in the town and regions infrastructure development to support growth of the region. The development of Australia progressed with a few frontier towns built in extreme isolation like Bathurst. Sydney was founded in 1788 and 25 years later in 1813 only a few other coastal towns had been established. The desire to explore the unknown areas led the Colonial Government to sponsor expeditions to the interior of the vast country. A large mountain range running parallel to the Sydney coast blocked access to the west and rugged mountains and a river blocked access to the north. Before the exploration of the inland started they had no idea what they would find but what they did discover was fertile and well watered land ideal for grazing of animals and producing agricultural products.
New South Wales experienced the first gold rush in Australia, a period generally accepted to lie between 1851 and 1880. This period in the history of New South Wales resulted in a rapid growth in the population and significant boost to the economy of the colony of New South Wales. The California Gold Rush three years prior signaled the impacts on society that gold fever would produce, both positive and negative. The New South Wales colonial government concealed the early discoveries, but various factors changed the policy.
Ludwig Hugo (Louis) Beyers was a German-Australian gold miner and politician.
The Bridle Track is an historic walking and horse trail between Bathurst and Hill End, located in the Bathurst Region local government area, in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The trail is likely to have been established in c. 1850s. The name of the trail is derived from the word bridle, referring to the horse livery and the track generally distinguished it from a road or carriageway; a common term used from the mid-1800s to describe the many foot worn trails that developed between towns and villages by walkers and horses.
Hill End Historic Site is a heritage-listed former gold rush town and now township at Hill End, Bathurst Region, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Golden Gully and Archway is a heritage-listed former mining and now pastoral property at Golden Gully, Hill End, Bathurst Region, New South Wales, Australia. It was built by European and Chinese gold miners. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, officially, St Mary of the Presentation Church, is a heritage-listed Roman Catholic church at 13 Church Street, Mudgee, Mid-Western Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Hartley historic site is a heritage-listed historic village located adjacent to the Great Western Highway, Hartley, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1837 to 1850. It is also known as Hartley Historic Site and Hartley Township. The property is owned and protected by Office of Environment and Heritage, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence . Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence . Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence . 
Media related to Hill End, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons
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