About Canowindra

Prior to the arrival of Europeans to Australia, the area now known as Canowindra was occupied for tens of thousands of years by a people known as the Wiradjuri.  These “people of the three rivers” were hunters and gatherers who made use of the resources available in the rivers and the lands, particularly the river flats.

European Settlement

The first land grant of 640 acres to a European in the area was to James Collits by Governor Ralph Darling in 1829 as a reward for “pointing out a line of road from Mt York to Bathurst”.  Collits owned other significant tracts of land in the area, together with a store and the first hotel.  A settlement slowly grew, and as early as 1844 the village was the site of a government pound.

A post office opened at Canowindra in 1847 with mail coming from Carcoar, but the village was handicapped as part of a main route to the lower Lachlan, first by the lack of a bridge and later by the construction of the railway to Orange.  The first bridge across the Belubula River at Canowindra was opened on 28 July 1875.

In October 1863, Ben Hall’s gang took over the village for three days and entertained the whole population, as well as some stray travellers, all herded into the inn.  An account of the incident was reported in the Bathurst Times, also quoted in the Maitland Mercury

Today the main street, Gaskill Street, has an old-world air, with its kerbside verandah posts lining the dog-leg course of what was once a bullock team track.  A total of 34 buildings and features in the town and environs are listed in the New South Wales State Heritage Register including 17 in or adjacent to Gaskill Street.

(Attribution:  The beautiful photograph at the top of this page is a product of our friends at Farmpix Photography.)