The Central West is a region in central

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

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. The region is situated west of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, 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 Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...

and also wineries, as well as rural farmland and natural landscapes. The region includes major towns like Bathurst, Orange, Mudgee, Lithgow, Parkes and

Cowra Cowra () is a town in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 8,254. Cowra is located approximate ...

. It has an area of .Central West Region - the agricultural heart of New South Wales
website of New South Wales Department of State and Regional Development, accessed 12 November 2006 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. Major population and service centres in the Central West include Bathurst,

, Lithgow, Mudgee, Orange, and Parkes. Bathurst and Orange are home to campuses of Charles Sturt University, and Lithgow housing the University of Notre Dame Regional Clinical School.

Cities and towns

The Central West includes the large regional centres of Bathurst and Orange; the towns of

, Mudgee, Lithgow and Parkes; and smaller centres, such as Blayney, Canowindra, Condobolin, Eugowra,

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, Grenfell, Gulgong, Kandos, Lake Cargelligo, Millthorpe, Molong,

, Peak Hill, Portland, Rylstone, and Wallerawang.

Demography and area

The following

local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...

are contained within the region:

Terrain

The Central West's east is higher, wetter and hillier and supports orchards,

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s, vegetable-growing and pastoralism. The west is flatter and drier and supports grain crops and pastoralism.

Major highways

The Central West region is traversed by the

Great Western Highway Great Western Highway is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the ...

, the Mid-Western Highway, the Mitchell Highway, the Newell Highway and the

Castlereagh Highway Castlereagh Highway is a state highway located in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. From north to south the highway traverses South West Queensland and the North West Slopes, Orana (New South Wales), Orana, and Central West (New South ...

Media

The Central West has several radio stations, including 2BS 95.1FM, B-Rock FM, Life Radio AM 1629khz, 97.9 2LVR (a community radio station), 105.1 2GZFM, 105.9 Star FM, Radio 2LT, 107.9 Move FM, 95.5 ROK FM, 107.5 Community Radio, 103.5 Rhema FM and 1089AM — a commercial station that gets most of its programming from 2SM in Sydney. Other electronic media are represented by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

with both television and radio broadcasting; and by television stations Prime7, Nine, and Southern Cross 10. Two major newspapers are published in the region, the '' Central Western Daily'' newspaper is published in Orange and the Western Advocate in Bathurst. Numerous other local papers serve the remaining large towns.

History

The Central West area was originally inhabited by the Wiradjuri people. The first British explorer, George Wilson Evans, entered the Lachlan Valley in 1815. He named the area the Oxley Plains after his superior the surveyor-general, John Oxley. In 1817 he deemed the area unfit for settlement. A Military Depot was established not long after at Soldiers Flat near present-day Billimari. Arthur Ranken and James Sloan, from Bathurst, were amongst the first European settlers on the Lachlan. They moved to the area in 1831. In the 1850s many gold prospectors passed through headed for gold fields at Lambing Flat ( Young) and Grenfell.

References

External links

NSW Forecast Areas map

Department of Local Government page for the region
listing links to council pages
"Open Directory" listing
{{Regions of New South Wales , state=autocollapse Regions of New South Wales Newell Highway