Eugowra is a town in the Central West region of

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 ...

, Australia. The town is split between Forbes Shire and Cabonne Shire

local government area 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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

, west of the state capital,

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 ...

. At the , Eugowra had a population of 779.

Geography

Situated 271 metres above sea level and 340 km west of Sydney in the Central West New South Wales, Eugowra is located in the

Local Government Area 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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

of Cabonne Shire Council. The parliamentary seats for Eugowra fall under the New South Wales State seat of

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and the Federal Division of Calare.

History of Eugowra

The area was occupied by the

Wiradjuri people The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in f ...

before European settlement. In 1815, European explorations in the area began, with the first being surveyor

George Evans George Evans may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George "Honey Boy" Evans (1870–1915), American songwriter and entertainer * George Evans (bandleader) (1915–1993), English jazz bandleader, arranger and tenor saxophonist * George Evans (sin ...

. In 1817,

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an English List of explorers, explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps bes ...

passed through the area on an expedition to explore the inland. In 1834,

Pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

settlement began with the establishment of ‘Eugowra’

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

. Eugowra’ is said to be named after the

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

word meaning "The place where the sand washes down the hill". In the 1860s, the village of Eugowra was developed, taking its name from the pastoral property. It developed near a bridge over Mandagery Creek on the route to Lachlan goldfields. The ‘John Bull Hotel’ (later named, ‘Fat Lamb Hotel’) was constructed. On 15 June 1862, the infamous bushranger,

Frank Gardiner Frank Gardiner (1830 – c. 1882) was an Australian bushranger who became notorious for his lead role in the largest gold heist in Australian history, at Eugowra, New South Wales in June 1862. Gardiner and Gardiner-Hall gang, his gang, which in ...

and his

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

, including Ben Hall, ambushed the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

Cobb and Co Cobb & Co was the name used by several independent Australian coach businesses. The first company to use 'Cobb & Co' was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name grew to great prominence in the late 19th century ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

at Escort Rock, carrying out Australia's largest gold robbery. They stole 77 kilograms of gold and £3,700 in cash. By 1866, there were 24 residents living in Eugowra village. In 1869, the Mandagery Creek Bridge was built. In 1881, the town was laid out and a police station (now residence), courthouse (now police station) and school were built into the 1890s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, more than 2,000 slabs of granite used in the construction of Australian Parliament House, were sourced from Eugowra. In 1921, Eugowra Rugby League Club was formed and competed in the Jack Hore Gold Cup and the Johnnie Walker Cup. The "Golden Eagles" as they are known, currently compete in the

Woodbridge Cup The Woodbridge Cup is a rugby league competition run by the New South Wales Country Rugby League. It encompasses smaller senior clubs in the Mid-West and Central West of the state. The neighbouring Mid-West Cup competition's remaining clubs mer ...

competition. A notable player for Eugowra in the late 1950s and early 60s was Ian Walsh. Walsh toured with the

Kangaroos Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey ...

in 1959/60. On 22 October 2012, the historic ‘Fat Lamb Hotel’ was burnt down. On 14 November 2022, Eugowra was affected by severe flooding that resulted in damage to 90 percent of the town's buildings. One person was confirmed to have died.

Heritage listings

Eugowra has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Escort Way: Escort Rock

Economy

The town has a number of nationally recognised dairy farms, feedlot, egg producers and quail farms. Eugowra is known for its

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, with more than 2000 slabs of local granite used in

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Meeting places of parliament Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * P ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

Amenities

The town includes two primary schools, supermarket, hotel, two cafes, newsagent, butcher, bowling club, function centre, mechanic, hair salon, preschool, museum, pharmacy, GP, Multi Purpose Health centre, craft shop, as well as farm produce suppliers, post office, bank, lucerne plant, granite supply and a sawmill. The town includes a supermarket, two hotels, a newsagent, a butcher and golf and

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

clubs, as well as farm produce suppliers,

lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

crops and a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

. Recreationally, Eugowra has a showground, sports ground, children's playground and skate park, swimming pool and caravaning/RV parking grounds with dump points.

Attractions

Eugowra is increasing its tourism, with the inclusion of the Canola Cup Harness Race, held during the Spring Racing Carnival. Eugowra hosts an annual campfire event as part of the Orange Fire Festival. Eugowra has

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s and hosts a weekend for artists to paint further murals and hosts market stalls and car show. Tourist attractions include picnicking and camping by Mandagery Creek, visiting the Museum & Bushranger Centre, visiting the heritage listed Escort Rock; exploring

Nangar National Park Nangar is a national park in located New South Wales, Australia, west of Sydney. The park is located in the Nangar-Murga Range between Eugowra and Canowindra. It features Nangar Mountain, which rises to . Trees consist of eucalyptus, black ...

for its bird watching, star gazing and flora; watching

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

played at Ian Walsh Oval; hiking or mountain biking through Back Yamma State Forest; camping, fishing & picnicking alongside the Paytens Bridge or

Lachlan River The Lachlan River (Wiradjuri: ''Kalari'', ''Galiyarr'') is an intermittent river that is part of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, located in the Southern Tablelands, Central West, and Riverina regions of New Sou ...

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in the Central West (New South Wales) Cabonne Council Forbes Shire