Louth is a village on the eastern side of the
Darling River
The Darling River (or River Darling; Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka''), is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth. Including its long ...
in
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
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The village is in
Bourke Shire, south west of
Bourke and north west of
Cobar. The town is made famous by the Louth Races which are held in August each year, attracting crowds of nearly five thousand.
[The Age - Louth](_blank)
Retrieved on 2009-7-3 At the
2021 census, Louth and the surrounding region had a population of 74.
The town was established in 1859 when Thomas Andrew Mathews, an
Irish immigrant from
County Louth
County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...
, built a pub to serve the passing trade along the then busy Darling River. At one stage the town grew to have three hotels, a cordial factory, three bakeries, two butchers, a post office, three churches, a Chinese garden, a general store and a police station.
The post office still remains and has been beautifully restored.
When T.A. Mathew's first wife, Mary Mathews, died in 1886, he had a unique headstone built that is now an Australian National Monument. At dusk each night, the cross reflects the setting sun across the town acting as a beacon of light that on the anniversary of her death lights up the doorstep of where her family home once stood.
In 1888 the first mechanised shearing of sheep, in the world, took place at Sir
Samuel McCaughey's ''Dunlop''
Station, a property located within the Louth district.
Trilby Station
Retrieved 26 September 2011
References
External links
Louth races
- Official website
{{authority control
Towns in New South Wales
Populated places on the Darling River
Far West (New South Wales)
Bourke Shire