Towrang is a village in the

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a Regions of New South Wales, geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by Plateau, high, flat country which has gene ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, in

Goulburn Mulwaree Council Goulburn Mulwaree Council is a local government area located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Hume Highway and the Southern Highlands railway line. The estimated resident popul ...

. It is approximately north of

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

on 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 ...

south from

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 Mountain ...

. At the , Towrang had a population of 171.

History

The town was established in the 19th century, early in the European settlement of New South Wales. The area was once a large producer of fruit for the Sydney market.

Towrang railway station Towrang is a closed railway station on the Main South railway line in New South Wales, Australia. A platform opened in the locality in 1869 south of the later station, called ''Mannafields'' after a property of the same name. A later station o ...

on the

Main Southern railway line The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs from Sydney to Albury, near the Victorian border. The line passes through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and Riverina regions. ...

opened in 1869 and was one of the busiest in the state. The station closed in 1974 and has since been removed, after Goulburn outgrew Towrang and fruit production declined. A major stockade for chain-bound convicts and others involved in the construction of the Great South Road was located on the north side of the Hume Highway at Towrang Creek from around 1836 to 1842. The stockade was the major penal settlement in southern New South Wales and enforced harsh discipline. Around 250 convicts slept there on bare boards with a blanket each and 10 men to a cell. One of the floggers was later murdered. There is a rest area on the south side where a well-preserved bridge (possibly designed by the designer of impressive early bridges in New South Wales,

David Lennox David Lennox (1788 – 12 November 1873) was a Scottish-Australian bridge builder and master stonemason born in Ayr, Scotland. Personal details Trained as a stonemason, Lennox worked on Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge at Anglesey in Wales ...

) and a culvert can be viewed. The stockade is on the north side of the Highway and used to be accessible by a stile, but this has been taken down to discourage people from stopping and using the daunting intersection with Towrang Road, especially for those turning right on to the Highway towards Goulburn. There are the remains of the powder magazine next to the

Wollondilly River The Wollondilly River, an Australian perennial river that is part of the HawkesburyNepean catchment, is located in the Southern Tablelands and Southern Highlands regions of New South Wales. The river meanders from its western slopes near Crook ...

, three graves on the north bank of Towrang Creek, and the remains of a weir on Towrang Creek built for the stockade. Aboriginal stone tools have also been found on the banks of Towrang Creek, indicating that this was a route well-travelled long before

Hamilton Hume Hamilton Hume (19 June 1797 – 19 April 1873) was an early explorer of the present-day Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria. In 1824, along with William Hovell, Hume participated in an expedition that first took an overland route ...

came this way in 1818. The Hume highway in this area has been recently upgraded in 2007 and 2006 to improve safety at and in-between the

seagull intersection A seagull intersectionJohn Harper, Wal Smart, Michael de Roos''Seagull Intersection Layout. Island Point Road – A Case Study'' 2000 – 2010 or continuous green T-intersection (also known as a turbo-T (in Florida) or High-T intersection (in Neva ...

s with Towrang and Carrick Roads.

Heritage listings

Towrang has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Old Hume Highway:

Towrang Convict Stockade Towrang Convict Stockade is a heritage-listed former convict stockade on the Old Hume Highway at Towrang, New South Wales, Towrang, Goulburn Mulwaree Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1838 to 1843 by convict gangs. It was a ...

Gallery

Towrang bridge.JPG, Towrang bridge of 1839. Towrang culvert.JPG, Towrang culvert of 1839, near bridge.

Hotel

One of the earliest hotels in Towrang was the Red Lion Inn built before 1863 and licensed by Joseph Davidson.

References

{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Southern Tablelands Goulburn Mulwaree Council