Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served as a rural summer retreat for the

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

, resulting in the establishment of a number of estates and manor houses in the district. Today, it is considered a "dormitory suburb" for commuter

Sydneysiders Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

, though it is 132 km away from the city centre. Bowral is often associated with the

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er Sir

Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has b ...

. Bowral is close to several other historic towns, being from Mittagong, from both

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass. Moss Vale has severa ...

and Berrima. The suburb of East Bowral and the village of

Burradoo Burradoo () is a suburb of Bowral, in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The village of Burradoo is well known as an expensive area in the Southern Highlands (among other residential areas including ...

are nearby.

History

Bowral's colonial history extends back for approximately 200 years. During the pre-colonial era, the land was home to an Aboriginal tribe known as Tharawal (or Dharawal). The first European arrival was ex-convict John Wilson, who was commissioned by Governor Hunter to explore south of the new colony of

. Other people to traverse the area include John Warby and botanist

George Caley George Caley (10 June 1770 – 23 May 1829) was an English botanist and explorer, active in Australia for the majority of his career. Early life Caley was born in Craven, Yorkshire, England, the son of a horse-dealer. He was educated at the ...

(an associate of

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

), the

Hume Hume most commonly refers to: * David Hume (1711–1776), Scottish philosopher Hume may also refer to: People * Hume (surname) * Hume (given name) * James Hume Nisbet (1849–1923), Scottish-born novelist and artist In fiction * Hume, ...

brothers and later famous pioneer explorers

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...

and Charles Throsby. Governor

Lachlan Macquarie Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, an ...

of the New South Wales colony had appointed to

in a land grant, which was later incorporated as Bowral. The town grew rapidly between the 1860s and the 1890s, mainly due to the building of the railway line from Sydney to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. In 1863, a permanent stone building was built for the church. However, the building would be replaced by the first

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

church of St Simon and St Jude. The church was designed by

Edmund Blacket Edmund Thomas Blacket (25 August 1817 – 9 February 1883) was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn. Arriving in Sydney from Eng ...

and was built on the glebe in 1874. The church was expanded in 1887 to cater for a growing number of worshippers. Today, only Blackett's belltower remains. One of the earliest houses built as a mountain retreat was Craigieburn which was constructed in 1885. Gardens and European plants flourished from 1887, when citizens of Bowral started planting deciduous trees to make the area look more reminiscent of Europe and the British. This legacy still lives on throughout Bowral. Notably, the oaks at the start of Bong Bong St are a characteristic that makes Bowral distinct from other rural towns, giving it strong autumn colour. The town became somewhat affluent, as many wealthy Sydney-siders purchased property or land in the town and built grand Victorian weatherboard homes.

Heritage listings

Bowral NSW 2576, Australia - panoramio (29)

Bowral has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Evans Lane: Kurkulla * Glebe Street:

Bradman Oval Bradman Oval is a heritage-listed cricket ground in Glebe Street, Bowral in the southern highlands area of New South Wales, Australia. It was named after cricketer Don Bradman, who lived locally and played at the ground in the 1920s. His ashe ...

* Oxley Drive:

Mount Gibraltar Trachyte Quarries Complex Mount Gibraltar Trachyte Quarries Complex is a heritage-listed former stone quarry on Mount Gibraltar at Oxley Drive, Bowral, Wingecarribee Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was worked from 1886 to 1986. It is also known as "Da Gib". It ...

Etymology

Bowral and the former spelling Bowrall. may have been derived from an Dharawal word ''bowrel'' meaning "high".

Demographics

Bowral NSW 2576, Australia - panoramio (40)

The 2021 census recorded Bowral's population as 10,764. At the , Bowral area, including

, had a population of 12,949. A more local area had a population of 10,335. 74.7% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 7.0% and New Zealand 1.6% and 88.4% of people spoke only English at home. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.9% of Bowral's population. The most common responses for religion in Bowral were Anglican 26.2%, No Religion 24.2% and Catholic 22.7%. In the 21st century, Bowral has become a haven for retirees and empty nesters, commonly from

: 13.3% of Bowral's population is aged 55–64 years (compared with the national average of 11.8%) and 35.5% is aged over 64 years (compared with the national average of 15.8%). Consequently, the town has a number of retirement villages, some located only minutes' walk from the central business district and hospitals. Also, as measured during the 2016 census, 38.7% of the town's population are under the age of 45, whereas for the nation the figure is 59.4%.

Transportation

Bowral is about from the

Hume Highway Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route f ...

, which goes north to

and south to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, the

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera syst ...

and

. In the past, Bowral served as an overnight stop-over for travellers. Bowral railway station is served by the Southern Highlands Line with services between Sydney and

or Goulburn. Long distance services operate to

and Griffith. It has public bus routes to Nowra, Albion Park and

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near w ...

. A private operator provides a service six days a week from Bowral to Greater Sydney (Campbelltown, Liverpool and Parramatta) and to the Shoalhaven and south coast of New South Wales.

Climate

Bowral has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cfb''), enjoying warm summers and quite cool to cold winters.

Frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a g ...

is common during winter and can even occur in summer. Snowfalls are rare, although falls in excess of 15 cm have been recorded. The rarity of snowfall is due in part to the

foehn effect A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of i ...

. Historic maxima and minima have ranged from on 4 January 2020 to on 11 July 1971.

Tourist attractions

Bowral is noted for its

boutique A boutique () is a small shop that deals in fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (''apothēkē'') "storehouse". The term ''boutique'' and also ''de ...

s, antique stores, gourmet restaurants and cafés. The

, Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame are dedicated to the achievements of cricketer

Sir Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

and to the game of

. Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve, in the suburb's south, is a large picnic area known for its birdwatching. Bowral is the setting for Tulip Time at the Corbett Gardens, a springtime celebration with a profusion of tulips and other flowers planted in the town centre. A comprehensive private not-for-profit

botanic garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

includes a mix of exotic, native, and endemic species including a

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...

woodland, the endangered ecological community endemic to the site. The town has a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Memorial and Cherry Tree Walk, constructed along the Mittagong Rivulet that flows through the town. Along a walking/cycle track beside the stream are planted 526 cherry trees, each dedicated to a soldier who died in the service of his country. Bowral and surrounding region was proclaimed a

book town A book town is a town or village with many used book or antiquarian bookstores. These stores, as well as literary festivals, attract bibliophile tourists. Some book towns are members of the International Organisation of Book Towns. List of bo ...

in 2000, having numerous bookshops and associations with many literary figures including P. L. Travers, the author of the ''Mary Poppins'' novels, Arthur Upfield, and many others. First held in 2016, each spring, Bowral hosts a popular cycling event: "The Bowral Classic", which draws hundreds of participants to compete. There are multiple races ranging from 35 km to 160 km. Bowral panorama

The Bong Bong Picnic Races, commenced in 1886, attracted crowds of up to 35,000 but were suspended in 1985 and resumed in 1992 as a members-only event. The event attracts around 5,000 people and is held annually in November, as well as other events during the year. Bowral is also home to a few

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...

s and cellar doors and is close to Mittagong, the winery centre of the Southern Highlands. There are 60 vineyards in the Southern Highlands, which is a recognised cool-climate wine district. Wineries around Bowral are listed in the Southern Highlands Wineries Index. Bowral is overshadowed by Mount Gibraltar, which rises to above sea level and has lookouts over Bowral, Mittagong,

and the ranges near Bundanoon. Bowral-nsw

Hospitals

The town is served by the Bowral and District Hospital, which also serves the Southern Highlands region. Founded in 1889, it is the only hospital operated outside the

metropolitan area by the South Western Sydney Local Health District. Bowral also has access to a private hospital operated by

Ramsay Health Care Ramsay Health Care Limited is an Australian multinational healthcare provider and hospital network, founded by Paul Ramsay in Sydney, Australia, in 1964. The company operates in Australia, Europe, the UK, and Asia, specialising in surgery, rehab ...

, which includes short and long stay facilities although it lacks an emergency department.

Schools

Schools in Bowral: *

Bowral High School , motto_translation = Higher , slogan = Exceptional learning opportunities for all , location = Aitken Road, Bowral, Southern Highlands, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map ...

* Bowral Public School * Chevalier College (

) * Oxley College (

) * Southern Highlands Christian School ( East Bowral) * St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School

Churches

Churches in Bowral: * The Fields Church, an

Acts 29 Network Acts 29 is a global family of church planting churches that adheres to Calvinist theology. It derives its name from the Book of Acts in the New Testament, which has 28 chapters, making Acts 29 the "next chapter" in the history of the church. A nu ...

church * St Simon's and St Jude's Anglican Church * St Thomas Aquinas

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

* St Andrew's Presbyterian Church * Bowral Uniting Church * Bowral First Church of Christ, Scientist * Bowral

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul comp ...

* Bowral Salvation Army * Bowral

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...

* Seventh-day Adventist Church

Notable residents

* Sir

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to b ...

: First Prime Minister of Australia *

Billy Birmingham Billy Birmingham (born 1953) is an Australian humourist and sometime sports journalist, most noted for his parodies of Australian cricket commentary in recordings under The Twelfth Man name. Early career He wrote the pun-laden comedy hit "Aus ...

: comedian, aka "The 12th Man" * Sir

: Australian cricketer, the town's welcoming sign features a likeness of him getting ready to hit. * Ita Buttrose: journalist, businesswoman, and Australian of the year 2013 *

Jennifer Byrne Jennifer Victoria Byrne (born 5 March 1955) is an Australian journalist, television presenter and former book publisher. She hosted the monthly ABC television program '' The Book Club'', originally titled ''First Tuesday Book Club''. Early li ...

: journalist and former book publisher * Richard Carleton: former ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique st ...

'' reporter. Born in Bowral *

Bryce Courtenay Arthur Bryce Courtenay, (14 August 1933 – 22 November 2012) was a South African-Australian advertising director and novelist. He is one of Australia's best-selling authors, notable for his book '' The Power of One''. Background and early ye ...

: South African novelist * G. F. J. Dart: headmaster of Ballarat Grammar School 1942–1970 *

Andrew Denton Andrew Christopher Denton (born 4 May 1960) is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie-nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program '' Enough Rope'' a ...

: television producer, comedian, television presenter and former radio host *

Frank Debenham Frank Debenham, OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965) was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography, Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute. Biography Debenham was born in B ...

: Antarctic scientist and geographer *

Roy De Maistre Roy De Maistre CBE (27 March 18941 March 1968) was an Australian artist of international fame. He is renowned in Australian art for his early experimentation with "colour-music", and is recognised as the first Australian artist to use pure abst ...

: painter, born Bowral 1894 * Lorrae Desmond: actress (''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were p ...

''). Born in Mittagong * John Fahey: former NSW Premier, federal parliamentarian, president of the (sports) World Anti-Doping Agency * Peter Garrett: former Gillard Government minister and band member of

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 ...

* Scott Geddes: rugby league player * Merv Hicks: Rugby league international *

Nathan Hindmarsh Nathan William Hindmarsh (born 7 September 1979) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who captained the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative second-ro ...

: Parramatta Eels captain

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

Geoff Jansz Geoff Jansz (born 1958 ) is a Sri Lankan-born Australian chef and television presenter. Career After graduating from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Pharmacy in 1984, Geoff Jansz worked as a pharmacist, but later opened a restau ...

: television chef * James Kemsley: cartoonist (

Ginger Meggs ''Ginger Meggs'', Australia's most popular and longest-running comic strip, was created in the early 1920s by Jimmy Bancks. The strip follows the escapades of a red-haired prepubescent mischief-maker who lives in an inner suburban working-class ...

) * Graham Kennedy: "The King" of Australian television *

Peter Khan The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate on ...

: former member of the

Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate ...

, the supreme governing institution of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

. *

Elspeth McLachlan Elspeth McLachlan (born 22 July 1942), an Australian neuroscientist, is a world authority on neural pathways within the autonomic nervous system. Her work has included detailed analyses of transmission in autonomic ganglia to studies of the org ...

: neuroscientist, born in Bowral * Geoff Morrell: artist, actor ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

'' *

John Olsen (Australian artist) John Henry Olsen AO OBE (born 21 January 1928) is an Australian artist and winner of the 2005 Archibald Prize. Olsen's primary subject of work is landscape. Early life and training John Olsen was born in Newcastle on 21 January 1928. He m ...

* Paul Ramsay: businessman and philanthropist *

Craig Reucassel Craig Bruce Reucassel is an Australian television and radio comedian. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. He hosted the Australian version of ''Balls of Steel'', which premiered in April 2011. Since 2013, Reucassel ...

: television satirist, attended Bowral High School * Leo Sayer: singer-songwriter * Clement Semmler: author, reviewer and deputy general manager of the ABC *

Tim Storrier Tim Storrier AM (born 13 February 1949, Sydney) is an Australian artist who won the 2012 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize with ''The Lunar Savant'', a portrait of fellow artist McLean Edwards. Tim won the 2012 Archibald Prize for a 'facele ...

: artist, winner of the 2012

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

* P. L. Travers: author of ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film star ...

'' * Arthur Upfield: author of the ''Boney'' detective novels * Paul White: "The Jungle Doctor" medical missionary to Tanganyika, author * Geordie Williamson: Mathematician specialising in representation theory * Tim the Yowie Man, lived his formative years in Bowral from 1982–1990. Cryptonaturalist, author, tour guide, motivational speaker, tv personality, radio broadcaster. *

Lauren Cheatle Lauren Roma Cheatle (born 6 November 1998) is an Australian cricketer who plays as a left-arm fast-medium bowler and left-handed batter. She plays domestic cricket for New South Wales in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) and the Syd ...

: Lives in Bowral. Fast Bowler for Australia women's cricket team, NSW Breakers and Sydney Sixers.

References

External links

Wingecaribee Shire Council – Administering and Based in Moss Vale

Information on Bowral and its History

BookTown Australia
* {{authority control 1860s establishments in Australia Populated places established in the 1860s