Rye Park is a town in the

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

region of

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. The town is in the

Hilltops Council Hilltops Council is a local government area in the South Western Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger of Boorowa Council, Harden Shire and Young Shire. The local government area cove ...

local government area, south west of the state capital,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and north of the national capital,

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. Rye Park is situated on the

Pudman Creek The Pudman Creek, a perennial stream that is part of the Lachlan River, Lachlan sub-catchment of the Murrumbidgee River, Murrumbidgee drainage basin, catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the South West Slopes region of New S ...

, which is a pristine waterway inhabited by platypus, turtles, frogs and the endangered Pigmy Perch. The area was first settled by Europeans in the 1840s to farm the land. There have been periods of mining for silver and tin but today the town is involved in production of wool and meat. Evidence of the village's early settlers can still be found.

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 (Australia), Victoria. In 1824, along with William Hovell, Hume participated in an expedition that first t ...

’s family settled in the area in 1865. Their homestead remains relatively unchanged from its original construction and it is still a privately owned working sheep property. Rye Park has had a school since 1876. At the , Rye Park had a population of 258, which had dropped to 230 at the 2021 census.

References

{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Southern Tablelands Hilltops Council 1840s establishments in Australia