Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of

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, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the

Wingecarribee Shire Wingecarribee Shire is the local government area of the Southern Highlands in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Wingecarribee Shire is around southwest of the Sydney central business district and is part of regional Capital Countr ...

and Highlands. Bowral once served as a rural summer retreat for the

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

of Sydney, resulting in the establishment of a number of estates and manor houses in the district. Today, it is considered a "dormitory suburb" for commuter Sydneysiders, though it is 132 km away from the city centre. Bowral is often associated with the

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er Sir Donald Bradman. Bowral is close to several other historic towns, being from

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is situated at an elevation of . The town ...

, from both

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass. Moss Vale has several h ...

and Berrima. The suburb of East Bowral and the village of Burradoo are nearby.

History

Bowral's colonial history extends back for approximately 200 years. During the pre-colonial era, the land was home to an Aboriginal tribe known as

Tharawal The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...

(or

Dharawal The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, ...

). The first European arrival was ex-convict John Wilson, who was commissioned by Governor Hunter to explore south of the new colony of Sydney. Other people to traverse the area include John Warby and botanist

George Caley George Caley (10 June 1770 – 23 May 1829) was an English botanist and explorer, active in Australia for the majority of his career. Early life Caley was born in Craven, Yorkshire, England, the son of a horse-dealer. He was educated at the ...

(an associate of Joseph Banks), the Hume brothers and later famous pioneer explorers John Oxley and

Charles Throsby Charles Throsby (1777 – 2 April 1828) was an English surgeon who, after he migrated to New South Wales in 1802, became an explorer, pioneer and parliamentarian. He opened up much new land beyond the Blue Mountains for colonial settlement ...

. Governor Lachlan Macquarie of the New South Wales colony had appointed to John Oxley in a land grant, which was later incorporated as Bowral. The town grew rapidly between the 1860s and the 1890s, mainly due to the building of the railway line from Sydney to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In 1863, a permanent stone building was built for the church. However, the building would be replaced by the first Anglican church of St Simon and St Jude. The church was designed by

Edmund Blacket Edmund Thomas Blacket (25 August 1817 – 9 February 1883) was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn. Arriving in Sydney from Engl ...

and was built on the glebe in 1874. The church was expanded in 1887 to cater for a growing number of worshippers. Today, only Blackett's belltower remains. One of the earliest houses built as a mountain retreat was Craigieburn which was constructed in 1885. Gardens and European plants flourished from 1887, when citizens of Bowral started planting

deciduous trees In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, afte ...

to make the area look more reminiscent of Europe and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. This legacy still lives on throughout Bowral. Notably, the

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

s at the start of Bong Bong St are a characteristic that makes Bowral distinct from other rural towns, giving it strong autumn colour. The town became somewhat affluent, as many wealthy Sydney-siders purchased property or land in the town and built grand Victorian

weatherboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

homes.

Heritage listings

Bowral NSW 2576, Australia - panoramio (29)

Bowral has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Evans Lane:

Kurkulla Kurkulla is a heritage-listed residence and former boarding school at Evans Lane, Bowral, Wingecarribee Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in the early 1880s. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1 ...

* Glebe Street: Bradman Oval * Oxley Drive: Mount Gibraltar Trachyte Quarries Complex

Etymology

Bowral and the former spelling Bowrall. may have been derived from an

word ''bowrel'' meaning "high".

Demographics

Bowral NSW 2576, Australia - panoramio (40)

The 2021 census recorded Bowral's population as 10,764. At the , Bowral area, including Burradoo, had a population of 12,949. A more local area had a population of 10,335. 74.7% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 7.0% and New Zealand 1.6% and 88.4% of people spoke only English at home. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.9% of Bowral's population. The most common responses for religion in Bowral were Anglican 26.2%, No Religion 24.2% and Catholic 22.7%. In the 21st century, Bowral has become a haven for

retirees A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...

and

empty nesters Empty nest syndrome is a feeling of grief and loneliness parents may feel when their children move out of the family home, such as to live on their own or to attend a college or university. It is not a clinical condition. Since young adults moving ...

, commonly from Sydney: 13.3% of Bowral's population is aged 55–64 years (compared with the national average of 11.8%) and 35.5% is aged over 64 years (compared with the national average of 15.8%). Consequently, the town has a number of retirement villages, some located only minutes' walk from the central business district and hospitals. Also, as measured during the 2016 census, 38.7% of the town's population are under the age of 45, whereas for the nation the figure is 59.4%.

Transportation

Bowral is about from the Hume Highway, which goes north to Sydney and south to Canberra, the Snowy Mountains and

. In the past, Bowral served as an overnight stop-over for travellers.

Bowral railway station Bowral railway station is located on the Main South line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the town of Bowral opening on 1 March 1867. Platforms & services Bowral has two side platforms. It is serviced by NSW TrainLink Southern Highland ...

is served by the

Southern Highlands Line The Southern Highlands Line is an Intercity rail service operated by NSW TrainLink that services the Macarthur, Southern Highlands and Southern Tablelands regions of New South Wales. First operating in 1869, the service runs from across the ...

with services between Sydney and

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 ...

. Long distance services operate to Canberra and Griffith. It has public bus routes to

Nowra Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in t ...

Albion Park Albion Park is a suburb situated in the Macquarie Valley in the City of Shellharbour, which is in turn one of the three local government areas that comprise the Wollongong Metropolitan Area, New South Wales, Australia. Although it is surround ...

and

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wa ...

. A private operator provides a service six days a week from Bowral to Greater Sydney (Campbelltown, Liverpool and Parramatta) and to the Shoalhaven and south coast of New South Wales.

Climate

Bowral has an oceanic climate (''Cfb''), enjoying warm summers and quite cool to cold winters. Frost is common during winter and can even occur in summer. Snowfalls are rare, although falls in excess of 15 cm have been recorded. The rarity of snowfall is due in part to the foehn effect. Historic maxima and minima have ranged from on 4 January 2020 to on 11 July 1971.

Tourist attractions

Bowral is noted for its boutiques, antique stores, gourmet restaurants and cafés. The Bradman Oval, Bradman Museum and

International Cricket Hall of Fame The Bradman Museum & International Cricket Hall of Fame is a permanent cultural exhibition dedicated to the game of cricket. It is located in the Australian town of Bowral, New South Wales. The exhibition opened in November 2010 in buildings forme ...

are dedicated to the achievements of cricketer Sir Donald Bradman and to the game of

Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve The Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve located in the Southern Highlands area of New South Wales Australia. The reserve is situated between the towns of and and is known for bird watching. Description The nature re ...

, in the suburb's south, is a large picnic area known for its

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

. Bowral is the setting for Tulip Time at the Corbett Gardens, a springtime celebration with a profusion of tulips and other flowers planted in the town centre. A comprehensive private not-for-profit

botanic garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

includes a mix of exotic, native, and endemic species including a shale woodland, the endangered ecological community endemic to the site. The town has a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

Memorial and Cherry Tree Walk, constructed along the Mittagong Rivulet that flows through the town. Along a walking/cycle track beside the stream are planted 526 cherry trees, each dedicated to a soldier who died in the service of his country. Bowral and surrounding region was proclaimed a book town in 2000, having numerous bookshops and associations with many literary figures including P. L. Travers, the author of the ''Mary Poppins'' novels,

Arthur Upfield Arthur William Upfield (1 September 1890 – 12 February 1964) was an English-Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte of the Queensland Police Force, a mixed-race ...

, and many others. First held in 2016, each spring, Bowral hosts a popular cycling event: "The Bowral Classic", which draws hundreds of participants to compete. There are multiple races ranging from 35 km to 160 km. Bowral panorama

The Bong Bong Picnic Races, commenced in 1886, attracted crowds of up to 35,000 but were suspended in 1985 and resumed in 1992 as a members-only event. The event attracts around 5,000 people and is held annually in November, as well as other events during the year. Bowral is also home to a few

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

s and cellar doors and is close to

, the

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

centre of the Southern Highlands. There are 60 vineyards in the Southern Highlands, which is a recognised cool-climate wine district. Wineries around Bowral are listed in the Southern Highlands Wineries Index. Bowral is overshadowed by

Mount Gibraltar Mount Gibraltar ( Aboriginal: ''Bowrell'') is a mountain with an elevation of that is located in the Southern Highlands region, between Bowral and Mittagong, in New South Wales, Australia. Further west is . Location and features The mounta ...

, which rises to above sea level and has lookouts over Bowral,

and the ranges near

Bundanoon Bundanoon is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire, on Gandangarra and Dharawal Country (where these two countries meet). It is an Aboriginal name meaning "place of deep gullies" and was forme ...

Hospitals

The town is served by the

Bowral and District Hospital Bowral and District Hospital is an acute care public hospital servicing the Southern Highlands region in New South Wales, Australia. The hospital is centrally located in the town of Bowral and is the only hospital operated outside the Sydney ...

, which also serves the Southern Highlands region. Founded in 1889, it is the only hospital operated outside the Sydney metropolitan area by the South Western Sydney Local Health District. Bowral also has access to a private hospital operated by

Ramsay Health Care Ramsay Health Care Limited is an Australian multinational healthcare provider and hospital network, founded by Paul Ramsay in Sydney, Australia, in 1964. The company operates in Australia, Europe, the UK, and Asia, specialising in surgery, rehab ...

, which includes short and long stay facilities although it lacks an emergency department.

Schools

Schools in Bowral: *

Bowral High School , motto_translation = Higher , slogan = Exceptional learning opportunities for all , location = Aitken Road, Bowral, Southern Highlands, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map ...

* Bowral Public School *

Chevalier College , motto_translation = Strong in Faith , established = , type = Independent co-educational secondary day school , denomination = Roman Catholic , religious_affiliation = Missionaries of the Sacred Heart , affiliations = Independent Scho ...

( Burradoo) * Oxley College ( Burradoo) * Southern Highlands Christian School ( East Bowral) * St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School

Churches

Churches in Bowral: * The Fields Church, an Acts 29 Network church * St Simon's and St Jude's

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

St Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

* St Andrew's Presbyterian Church * Bowral Uniting Church * Bowral First Church of Christ, Scientist * Bowral Baptist Church * Bowral Salvation Army * Bowral Church of Christ * Seventh-day Adventist Church

Notable residents

* Sir Edmund Barton: First Prime Minister of Australia *

Billy Birmingham Billy Birmingham (born 1953) is an Australian humourist and sometime sports journalist, most noted for his parodies of Australian cricket commentary in recordings under The Twelfth Man name. Early career He wrote the pun-laden comedy hit " Au ...

: comedian, aka "The 12th Man" * Sir Donald Bradman: Australian cricketer, the town's welcoming sign features a likeness of him getting ready to hit. *

Ita Buttrose Ita Clare Buttrose (born 17 January 1942) is an Australian TV network chairperson, television and radio personality, author and former magazine editor, publishing executive and newspaper journalist. She was the founding editor of '' Cleo'', a ...

: journalist, businesswoman, and Australian of the year 2013 *

Jennifer Byrne Jennifer Victoria Byrne (born 5 March 1955) is an Australian journalist, television presenter and former book publisher. She hosted the monthly ABC television program '' The Book Club'', originally titled ''First Tuesday Book Club''. Early li ...

: journalist and former book publisher *

Richard Carleton Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

: former '' 60 Minutes'' reporter. Born in Bowral * Bryce Courtenay: South African novelist *

G. F. J. Dart Gerald Francis John Dart OBE (20 May 1905 – 17 August 1978) was a teacher, educational philosopher and playwright who was Headmaster of Ballarat Grammar School in Victoria, Australia from 1942 until 1970. He was made an Officer of the Order o ...

: headmaster of Ballarat Grammar School 1942–1970 * Andrew Denton: television producer, comedian, television presenter and former radio host * Frank Debenham: Antarctic scientist and geographer *

Roy De Maistre Roy De Maistre CBE (27 March 18941 March 1968) was an Australian artist of international fame. He is renowned in Australian art for his early experimentation with "colour-music", and is recognised as the first Australian artist to use pure abs ...

: painter, born Bowral 1894 *

Lorrae Desmond Lorrae Desmond (2 October 1929 – 23 May 2021) born as Beryl Hunt, was an Australian Gold Logie-award-winning singer, recording artist, radio and television presenter, character actor, and playwright, with a career that spanned over 55 years ...

: actress ('' A Country Practice''). Born in

* John Fahey: former NSW Premier, federal parliamentarian, president of the (sports)

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his signa ...

: former Gillard Government minister and band member of Midnight Oil * Scott Geddes: rugby league player *

Merv Hicks Mervyn "Merv" John Hicks (born 1943) is a Welsh former rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He played rugby union club football in Wales for the Cross Keys RFC, rugby league club football in ...

: Rugby league international *

Nathan Hindmarsh Nathan William Hindmarsh (born 7 September 1979) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who captained the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative second- ...

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

captain NRL *

Geoff Jansz Geoff Jansz (born 1958 ) is a Sri Lankan-born Australian chef and television presenter. Career After graduating from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Pharmacy in 1984, Geoff Jansz worked as a pharmacist, but later opened a restaur ...

: television chef *

James Kemsley James Lawrence Kemsley OAM (15 November 1948 – 3 December 2007) was an Australian cartoonist who was notable for producing the comic strip ''Ginger Meggs'' (originally created by Jimmy Bancks) between 1984 and 2007. Early life James Kemsl ...

: cartoonist (

Ginger Meggs ''Ginger Meggs'', Australia's most popular and longest-running comic strip, was created in the early 1920s by Jimmy Bancks. The strip follows the escapades of a red-haired prepubescent mischief-maker who lives in an inner suburban working-clas ...

) *

Graham Kennedy Graham Cyril Kennedy AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, as well as a personality and star of radio, theatre, television and film. He often performed in the style of vaudevilli ...

: "The King" of Australian television *

Peter Khan The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate o ...

: former member of the

Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate o ...

, the supreme governing institution of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

. *

Elspeth McLachlan Elspeth McLachlan (born 22 July 1942), an Australian neuroscientist, is a world authority on neural pathways within the autonomic nervous system. Her work has included detailed analyses of transmission in autonomic ganglia to studies of the or ...

: neuroscientist, born in Bowral * Geoff Morrell: artist, actor ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

'' *

John Olsen (Australian artist) John Henry Olsen AO OBE (born 21 January 1928) is an Australian artist and winner of the 2005 Archibald Prize. Olsen's primary subject of work is landscape. Early life and training John Olsen was born in Newcastle on 21 January 1928. He m ...

Paul Ramsay Paul Joseph Ramsay (5 January 1936 – 1 May 2014) was an Australian businessman and philanthropist. Biography Born in Sydney, he grew up in Burradoo in the Southern Highlands, New South Wales. He attended St Ignatius' College, Riverview, w ...

: businessman and philanthropist *

Craig Reucassel Craig Bruce Reucassel is an Australian television and radio comedian. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. He hosted the Australian version of ''Balls of Steel'', which premiered in April 2011. Since 2013, Reucassel ...

: television satirist, attended Bowral High School *

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

: singer-songwriter * Clement Semmler: author, reviewer and deputy general manager of the ABC * Tim Storrier: artist, winner of the 2012

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

* P. L. Travers: author of ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

'' *

: author of the ''Boney'' detective novels * Paul White: "The Jungle Doctor" medical missionary to Tanganyika, author * Geordie Williamson: Mathematician specialising in

representation theory Representation theory is a branch of mathematics that studies abstract algebraic structures by ''representing'' their elements as linear transformations of vector spaces, and studies modules over these abstract algebraic structures. In essen ...

Tim the Yowie Man Tim the Yowie Man is an Australian writer, author and cryptonaturalist who was born in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Life and career Born Timothy Bull, TYM has changed his name by deed poll. He is an Australian National University gr ...

, lived his formative years in Bowral from 1982–1990. Cryptonaturalist, author, tour guide, motivational speaker, tv personality, radio broadcaster. * Lauren Cheatle: Lives in Bowral. Fast Bowler for Australia women's cricket team, NSW Breakers and Sydney Sixers.

References

External links

Wingecaribee Shire Council – Administering and Based in Moss Vale

Information on Bowral and its History

BookTown Australia
* {{authority control 1860s establishments in Australia Populated places established in the 1860s