Bathurst (New South Wales)

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Bathurst [1] is a city in the Central West area of the Australian state of New South Wales, some 200 km west of Sydney.

[edit] Understand

Founded in 1815 as the first inland European settlement on the Australian continent, Bathurst quickly became a regional centre of outback expansion and became an exceedingly wealthy town during the first wave of the Australian gold rush in the 1850s

[edit] Get in

[edit] By car

Bathurst is approximately three hours drive west of Sydney. Car drivers should cross the Blue Mountains on either the Great Western Highway from the Penrith area or the Bells Line of Road from the Windsor area. On the other side of the mountains, follow the Great Western Highway from Lithgow to Bathurst.

[edit] By train and bus

Countrylink runs a daily train service from Sydney to Dubbo and return that stops at Bathurst. Alternatively, travellers could take a Cityrail train to Lithgow and change to a bus to Bathurst. Bathurst is part of the Cityrail network, so Cityrail conditions (like only first child pays, and cheap off-peak return) apply to these services. Tickets can be purchased directly from Cityrail on the day or in advance for the Countrylink train. Check the web sites for the fares and timetables, but the Cityrail bus/train is usually a cheaper option.

[edit] By plane

Regional Express offers several flights from Sydney to Bathurst daily.

[edit] See

• Holy Trinity Church, Kelso - the first inland church in Australia, built to serve the Anglican parish of Kelso that was founded in 1825. It was the first Australian church consecrated by a bishop and is built on a hill overlooking Bathurst, surrounded by an historical cemetery. Gilmour Street, Kelso, NSW 2795. Phone (02) 6332 4606. Opening Times: Sundays 1:30pm - 4:00pm or by arrangement.

• The Bathurst 1000. The Bathurst 1000 is an annual 1000km motor race for touring cars in the V8 supercar class, held once a year at Mount Panorama just outside Bathurst. The weekend of the Bathurst 1000 attracts Bathurst's largest contingent of visitors.

[edit] Do

• Drive around Mount Panorama race course. The road is open to public vehicles when there aren't races on. Note that the speed limit on the mountain is 60km/h and it is strictly enforced: police set up radar traps regularly. Good views of Bathurst can be had from McPhillamy Park on Mount Panorama. free

[edit] Eat

• Zieglers Cafe, 52 Keppel St. ph 02 6332 1565. This cafe does well prepared modern dishes, some of the desserts in particular are excellent. The best thing about it is the atmosphere though: nicely lit at night it's a haven against some of Bathurst's colder nights, and at lunch time you can sit in dappled light under the grapevine leaves outside.

[edit] Learn

Charles Sturt University has a Bathurst campus in Panorama Avenue in the south of Bathurst. ph 6338 4000. Its B Arts (Communications) degrees in theatre, journalism, advertising and public relations among others are particularly well regarded.

[edit] Sleep

[edit] Stay safe

The weekend of the Bathurst 1000 is an extremely dangerous time to be driving in the area: the fans are keen to emulate their heroes, and reckless driving is much more common than at other times.

The fans are not the only ones to look out for! The Police with Radar Traps are also on the lookout this weekend.

[edit] Get out

The second large town in the area, Orange, is only half an hours drive west on the Mitchell Highway, and several Countrylink bus services run between the two every day.

The interesting historical gold mining towns of Sofala and Hill End are about an hours drive away if you want to try your luck panning for gold.

Abercrombie caves offer a less crowded alternative to the more famous Jenolan caves

WikiPedia: Bathurst, New South Wales