Eugowra is a town in the Central West region of

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, Australia. The town is split between Forbes Shire and Cabonne Shire local government area, west of the state capital, Sydney. 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 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 (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

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 Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

before European settlement. In 1815, European explorations in the area began, with the first being surveyor George Evans. In 1817, John Oxley passed through the area on an expedition to explore the inland. In 1834, Pastoral settlement began with the establishment of ‘Eugowra’ station. Eugowra’ is said to be named after the

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

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 gained infamy for his lead role in the a robbery of a gold escort at Eugowra, New South Wales in June 1862. It is considered the largest gold heist in Australian history. Gard ...

and his

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

, including Ben Hall, ambushed the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

Cobb and Co Cobb & Co was the name used by many successful sometimes quite independent Australian coaching businesses. The first was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name Cobb & Co grew to great prominence in the late 19t ...

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 * Co ...

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. 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 ( phaneritic) 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 cools and solidifies under ...

, with more than 2000 slabs of local granite used in Parliament House in Canberra.

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 target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...

clubs, as well as farm produce suppliers, lucerne crops and a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where 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 (dimensi ...

. 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 The Spring Racing Carnival is the name of an Australian Thoroughbred horse racing series held annually in Melbourne during October and November. The Carnival and its status in the wider community Although racing in Australia is held every day exc ...

. Eugowra hosts an annual campfire event as part of the Orange Fire Festival. Eugowra has

mural A mural is any piece of 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'' is a Spani ...

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, bla ...

for its bird watching, star gazing and flora; watching

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

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 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 South Wales, Australia. The Lachlan Riv ...

References

External links

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