INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MUDGEE

Mudgee (including Eurunderee)
Interesting and important town with a number of historic buildings 'Mudgee' reputedly derives from the Wiradjuri Aboriginal term 'Moothi' meaning 'nest in the hills'. This is a suitable title as Mudgee is an attractive town of fine old buildings, located in the broad, picturesque and fertile Cudgegong River Valley. Surrounded by hills of green and blue, it is situated 265 km northwest of Sydney, a pleasant and very scenic 3 and half hour drive. Mudgee is 470 m above sea level and has a current population of around 8200. Almost 18,000 live in the surrounding district.
The area is noted for its fine wool, beef, fat lambs, cereal crops, Lucerne, vegetables, stone fruits, vineyards and cellar doors, premium olive oil, tapenades, jellies, mustards and jams, hand made chocolates, delicious cheeses, lavender products and honey. There is also a coalmine at Ulan, a livestock exchange and numerous horse, sheep and cattle studs.

Mudgee has many fine restaurants, pubs and cafes where you can be assured of delicious meals featuring local produce and the marvelous local wines.

The first European in the immediate vicinity was James Blackman who headed north to the Mudgee area from what is now Wallerawang in 1821, becoming the first European to cross the Cudgegong River. It is known that he had a slab building on the townsite by 1837.

Once Blackman proved the route passable William Lawson, who had failed in an earlier attempt, traveled north to Mudgee where he found some excellent grazing land. Lawson had been a member of the first European party to
cross the Blue Mountains in 1813 and was then commandant of Bathurst. He later took up 6000 acres along the Cudgegong River. He was immediately followed by George and Henry Cox (sons of William Cox who built the first road over the Blue Mountains) who became the first permanent European settlers on the Cudgegong River when they established the 'Menah' run, 3 km north-west of the present townsite. It was here that the first settlement developed. A police station and lock-up were established in 1833. Ardrossan Bed and Breakfast was built on part of Menah and has beautiful views of the black cattle grazing on Menah surrounded by purple and Blue Mountains.

Prior to that time the Wiradjuri people had occupied the district. Relations were amicable when white numbers were negligible but, as settlement escalated in the 1820s, conflict increased. Kangaroos and possums, major food sources, were slaughtered wholesale by whites. Sacred sites were desecrated and prime riverside land was taken. In 1824 martial law was declared and armed settlers roamed the countryside murdering Aborigines on sight, thereby decimating the tribe which was dispossessed and completely broken by the 1840s. William Cox, who made a significant contribution to their extermination, claimed the last local black died in 1876.

The village of Mudgee was gazetted in 1838. By 1841 there were 36 dwellings, mostly of slab construction, including three hotels, a hospital, a post office, two stores and the first Anglican Church. The first school (Anglican) was established in a slab hut in the 1840s and the police station was moved from Menah to Mudgee in the mid-1840s. The population had only reached about 200 by 1851.

However, a goldrush began when a huge nugget was found at Hargraves in 1851. Mudgee became a centre for the local goldfields, benefiting considerably from the consequent through-traffic which peaked with the finds at Gulgong and Hill End at the beginning of the 1870s. Both Gulgong and Hill End are worth visiting today as they have fine museums and gold is still being mined at Hill End.

It is a sign of Mudgee's early success that the population increased to 1500 by 1861 and it was declared a municipality in 1860, making it the second-oldest town west of the Great Dividing Range. Methodist and Presbyterian churches, the present Catholic and Anglican churches and the first National school were all built in the 1850s. In addition a police station, courthouse, post office, mechanics institute, the present Uniting Church and a town hall were added from 1860 to 1865. There were four coach factories operating in the 1860s to cater for the overwhelming transport demands.

Susan DeLong's parents, Ken and Esme Bray bought an 1860's property called 'Cawarra Cottage' overlooking beautiful Lawson park. The lovely home has 6 cedar fireplaces, doors and skirting boards, a lovely garden and until recent times a splendid view of paddocks being tilled by Percheron horse drawn plough. Today alas, like the steam trains, which used to visit Mudgee daily, a scene no longer to be enjoyed.

Fortunately, Mudgee was not just dependent on gold. The immediate area became noted for its quality wool and merino studs, its vineyards (introduced by a German immigrant in the 1850s) and its agricultural production. When the gold began to peter out late in the 19th century it was the strength of these staples, which sustained the town. When the railway arrived in 1884, it further boosted agricultural sales.

One of Australia's most famous poets and short-story writers, Henry Lawson (1867-1922), had very strong ties to Mudgee. His parents were married here in 1866. But for a brief stay at Gulgong, he was raised, from the age of
six months to 15 years, in a cottage 8 km north at Eurunderee which was established after a gold find in 1863. Lawson was educated at Eurunderee and Mudgee and many of his stories are inspired by his memories of the area. There is a yearly Henry Lawson Festival held in Gulgong in June a must for visitors to see.

Of more infamous repute are the Governor brothers, Aboriginal bushrangers who, in 1900, went on a murderous three-month rampage, killing ten people. One victim was 70-year-old Kiernan Fitzpatrick who was shot in front of
his hut near Wollar, 48 km north-east of Mudgee. Consequently, the Aborigines of Wollar were forcibly removed to the Brewarrina mission.

The Mudgee Wine Festival runs throughout September, the Mudgee Show in March and the Mudgee Small Farm Field Days in July at the Australian Rural Education Centre, 3 km north of Mudgee, off Henry Lawson Drive, near the airport. Markets are held on the first Saturday of the month at St. John's Anglican Church, and at Lawson Park on the second Saturday. The Farmer's Market is held at St. Mary's Church on the third Saturday of the month. There are many sporting events, country race meetings, popular music concerts such as 'Day on the Green" at Oatley Wines, the very popular classical music concerts at Huntington Estate, jazz concerts and plays at Blue Wren Winery that attract visitors to the beautiful Mudgee area.

Things to see:

Tourist Information
Mudgee Visitors' Centre at 84 Market St. is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. weekdays, from 9.00 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. Saturdays, and from 9.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. on Sundays and public holidays, tel: (02) 6372 1020.

Heritage Buildings
The following walk is not identical to the town walk outlined in the information centre's 'Mudgee Walks' pamphlet.

Market St.
On the eastern side of the information centre is the Classical Revival stuccoed-brick post office (1862). One of the first major country post offices in the state, it features an arcade with a pediment parapet and small belltower. On the western side are the old police station and stables (1860).

Robertson Park was Mudgee's first market place and the venue of the first Mudgee Show in 1846. It has beautiful gardens, a band rotunda (1903), free electric barbecues and children's' play facilities.

Head west along Market St. to the right, just past Douro St., are the old offices of Cudgegong Shire, located in a two-storey brick building (1885). Further west is the simple brick-and-iron courthouse (1861), with its elaborate wrought-iron dock.

Court St.
Turn right into Court St. At the south-western corner of Court and Short Sts is the former St. Matthew's Convent which operated here from 1874-1880.

Colonial Inn Museum
Return to Market St. and continue west. Just past Cox St., to the right, is the Colonial Inn Museum, formerly the West End Hotel (erected in 1856 on land taken up by George Cox in 1822). A bar, parlour, bedroom and kitchen have been recreated in 1870s fashion. Some of the items derive from the old Budgee Budgee Inn, 10 km north on the Cassilis Rd. It also has a large historic photograph collection and is open Saturdays and school holidays from 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. while hours on Sundays and public holidays are from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., tel: (02) 6372 3078.

Blackman Park
Head south on Cox St for one block to the Mortimer St. corner. Blackman Park was a cemetery from 1844-88. Although the headstones were removed to Memorial Park, it still contains the Blackman Vault at its western boundary which contains the remains of James Blackman who, in 1821, became the first European in the area.

Mortimer St
Head east along Mortimer St. to the Douro St corner where you will find the aforementioned headstones in Memorial Park. Continue east to St Paul's Presbyterian Church (1875-78) on the right. The church hall and Sunday school were the town's original Presbyterian Church (1857).

Perry St.
Turn left up Perry St. Here you will find the beautiful old Mudgee Guardian building, today the home of the Guardian, the Gulgong Advertiser and the Weekly. Ed DeLong, your host at Ardrossan B&B is the Chief of Staff of the thrice-weekly papers. To the right is the Salvation Army Citadel (1889). To the left is Lovejoy St. The building at 1 Lovejoy St. is the old Australian Joint Stock Bank (1865).

At the south-western corner of Perry and Gladstone Sts is the old Mechanics Institute (1861), now a private home. The High Victorian Gothic schoolhouse (1876) is on the western side of Perry St., between Gladstone and Denison Sts. The original section is now part of the primary school.

Uniting Church
Return to Mortimer St. and continue eastwards. To the right is the Methodist (now Uniting) Church, built 1863-64. The first Wesleyan Chapel was built in 1853 and is now incorporated into the block of shops at the corner of Mortimer and Church Sts.

Lewis St.
Continue east then turn left into Lewis St. To the left, about halfway along the block, is the second site of St. Matthew's Convent which transferred to this spot in 1880. Poet Henry Lawson briefly studied here.

Lawson Park
At the end of the road turn left into Short St. Lawson Park, on the banks of the Cudgegong River, has two sandstone monuments - one constructed in 1910 to commemorate 50 years of local government and the other from 1921 to denote the centenary of European discovery. There are free electric barbecues, picnic facilities, a swimming pool and children's' play facilities.

Opposite is the Lawson Park Hotel, built c.1860 as Tattersalls. It is a rare survivor of a council order to dispense with balconies. In recent times this order has been comprehensively reversed with the current council actively encouraging the restoration of old balconies and verandahs.

State Bank (the old Rural Bank)

Market St. Again
Turn left down Church St. At the south-eastern corner of Market and Church Sts is the Gothic Revival St. Mary's Catholic Church. The sanctuary and vestry are part of the original 1857 sandstone building, with the present body added in 1873-76 and the steeple in 1911. The presbytery (1851-52) is one of the oldest standing buildings in Mudgee.

On the north-western corner is St. John the Baptist's Anglican Church (1860-61). The large organ dates from 1881 and the church has some notable stained-glass windows. Adjacent (in Church St.) is the Sunday school hall, built in 1860 as an Anglican school.

Heading west on Market St. are the old town hall (1880), now the town library, and the old two-storey CBC Bank building (1884). Over the road is the Colonial Mecca Building. It was built in the 1850s as the Town Hall
Hotel. The front wall was reconstructed from local stone and is full of leaf and fish fossils, petrified wood and some interesting stone shapes.

Railway Station
Just outside the scope of the walk, at the corner of Church and Inglis Sts, is the elegant Victorian-era railway station with its French Empire style roof. It was designed by John Whitton and built 1883-84. Special event and some goods trains now use the Mudgee Railway station that also houses Mandurah at the Railway which displays local arts and crafts daily from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., tel: (02) 6372 2822.

Lookout
If you continue south along Church St., take the second right into Madeira Rd, then the third right at the top of the hill, it will take you to Flirtation Hill Lookout. Worth a visit to Gulgong to their lookout which has a really splendid panoramic view of the valley.

Henry Lawson
One of Australia's most famous poets and short-story writers, Henry Lawson (1867-1922), had very strong ties to Mudgee. His parents were married here in 1866. Although Henry was born at the Grenfell goldfields, he was
raised, from the age of six months to 15 years, in a cottage 8 km north of Mudgee at Eurunderee (then known as 'Pipeclay'), which was established after a gold find in 1863. He briefly attended the local Catholic school.
Lawson later swapped stories with 'Duke' Tritton at Mudgee's Miner's Arms Hotel and wrote much of his work while living in the area late in the 19th century.

The Wallaby Track drive tour takes in various sites associated with Lawson and his writing, including the old Eurunderee School, the Henry Lawson Memorial, the Budgee Budgee Inn (out on the Cassilis Road), Sapling Gully,
Golden Gully and the site of the Albury Pub which was owned by Lawson's grandfather. A guiding pamphlet is available from the Mudgee Visitors' Centres.

The Henry Lawson Memorial is a landscaped picnic area which centres on the brick fireplace which is all that remains of the Lawson family house, otherwise demolished in 1946. It is 8 km north of Mudgee on the right-hand side of Henry Lawson Drive, To get there follow the Cassilis Rd past the racecourse and turn left into Henry Lawson Drive (the road to Gulgong via Home Rule). The Memorial is 5 km along this road, to the right.

1 km further north, at the corner of Henry Lawson Drive and Strikes Lane, is the restored Eurunderee Provisional School. The school has an historical display relating to Lawson's attendance and to the general
history of the institution. It is open by appointment only. Contact (02) 6373 3981 for more information.

Eurunderee school was erected on the site of the 'Old Bark School' which Lawson's parents helped build in 1876. The older institution was where Lawson's formal education commenced when, at the age of nine, he became a member of the school's first class.

EARLY MUDGEE

Excerpted from “An Historical Guide to the First Town Of the Central Tablelands of New South Wales.” By Dr Godfrey Harris, Royal Australian Historical Society.

1813 Lieutenant William Lawson with Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth surveyed the Blue Mountains route and  in 1814-1815 Lt. William Cox superintended the convicts to build the first road over the Blue Mountains. Those officers and men of His Majesty’s Veteran Regiment of the New South Wales Corps, the garrison of the Port Jackson Penal Colony, explored and populated Mudgee. They took advantage of the terms of their enlistment in Great Britain, by which they received grants of land if they would settle in the colony. They were under heavy pressure to employ as much convict labour as possible so brought with them from Bathurst the human and material paraphernalia of the jail and prison farm.

There is some difference of opinion on the actual discovery of Mudgee. Was it James Blackman or Lieutenant Lawson?

The explorer Allan Cunningham, in an original journal now in the Mitchell Library, describes an exploration in 1822 and attributes the discovery of Mudgee to James Blackman in 1821. He wrote

“Mr Blackman, the late superintendant, discovered the valuable limestone 16 miles north of Bathurst, the Cudgegong a distance of 34 miles further and fine grazing country in the immediate vicinity of the native ‘sit down’ or ‘bimmil’ called ‘Mudgee”, 25 or 26 miles down the left bank of that secondary stream, which latter tracts were soon occupied by the flocks of three individuals with the approval of the Colonial Government”.

The author Henry Selkirk wrote, ‘’There seems to be no doubt that to James Blackman attaches the credit of the original discovery of Mudgee in 1821 and that Lawson in his expedition in November of the same year, merely followed Blackman’s route. Blackman was granted 100 acres of land at Bathurst which he sold to the Church Corporation and despite letters to Governor Darling from Lieutenant Lawson his request for an additional grant of land was refused.”

The Rev William Gibson Maconochie  sees things differently. Blackman discovered the road to Mudgee, but didn’t mention the discovery of the rich plains themselves. He describes an account James Blackman wrote, which contain a statement to the effect, that on his return journey he met Lawson, to whom he told his story, with the result that Lawson and the Cox brothers promptly took up all the best of the land before he had an opportunity to secure any.

In November 1821,  Lieutenant William Lawson,{Ironbark} John Blackman, the  constable of Bathurst and 4 convicts set out from the huts of the new Bathurst convict prison farm settlement to search for new pasture, as there was drought in the Bathurst area.  James Blackman had earlier discovered the Cudgegong River to Mullamuddy or perhaps Broombee. The Lawson party camped at Broombee after local blacks made things unpleasant. Lawson and Blackman rode west to discover spacious meadows, which became Mudgee, on 13th November 1821. The name meant ‘nest” to the local aborigines. Lawson crossed the river at Menah , continued north to Cooyal and the Talbragar River. He crossed the head of the Goulburn River, but by this time the convicts and the horses were without shoes so they returned to Bathurst a total journey of 400 miles.

1822 Lawson tried again to reach the Liverpool Plains discovered by John Oxley, but was forced to give up.

1822 George Cox, the son of Lieutenant William Cox, had followed Lawson’s marked tracks to Mudgee and the Talbragar. They found the land rich and there for the taking. The Mudgee country was the choicest, for in addition to fertile soil, it had permanent water. So they ‘squatted” there. He sent for his brother Henry, who with Richard Lewis and Tom Frome and a few convicts, brought a mob of 500 cattle. They settled at Menah. The first camp was under a huge river gum. The Cox’s territory was the south bank of the Cudgegong River. Ardrossan B&B can be found on 10 acres of this historic Menah run.

 Lawson had chosen the north, squatted on 1,000 acres which included Pipeclay and Eurunderee Creek and built his home on Bombira Hill. James Walker of Wallerawang came to Lue. Another Cox brother Edward settled at Rawdon, while Robert Fitzgerald settled at Dabee. Billy Hayes at Havilah and Robert Lowe Snr secured Wilbetree.  Guntawang, the scene of the worst recorded encounter between white and black men was taken up first by George Cox and later by the Rouse brothers.

The blacks were dangerous and plentiful. They used to come about the stations and were very difficult to deal with, because to shoot them for coming near was repugnant, yet to allow them to loaf about was to endanger the lives of all the white people in the camp. The chief blacks in the district had been named by the white people after the days of the week. The great chief was “Sunday”, but the deadliest enemy of the newly arrived whites was a powerful black “Saturday.” The servants of the new stations stood in mortal terror of the blacks, for their stealthy methods got to the nerves of the hirelings and when a white man was speared they all fled to Bathurst. During an encounter at Guntawang where the blacks were numerous, seven whites were killed while the number of blacks was never ascertained. The warfare was pursued with unrelenting severity, men, women and children were indiscriminately killed. Ultimately the government issued a proclamation of martial law on 14th August 1824, not annulled till 11th December 1824.

1823 Allan Cunningham went north till blocked by the Warrambungles. After much privations and effort on 7th June 1823 he found and traversed Pandora’s Pass

1823 Archibald Bell, brother in law of George Cox, followed an aboriginal track and discovered a less rugged route from the coast to the west, thus avoiding the nightmare grades between Mt York and Hartley. The Bell’s Line was called ‘the natural course for traffic between coast and interior

The government paid to Henry Cox the sum of 33.68 pounds for rent of a building as a police barracks or lock up at Menah during the 1830’s. One room, 12ft square, constructed of huge logs, set perpendicularly into the ground. The floor was of roughly hewn sleepers, roofed with large shingles and no windows. The space between each log let in light and ventilation. The big heavy door was studded with spikes. Prisoners were chained to the wall for security. Females and males and even persons of suspicion were chained up too. The lash was administered for the slightest fault and tickets of leave were cancelled on the smallest offence such as ‘insolence!’ The flogger earned half a crown a day.

BUSHRANGERS

The first bushrangers were escaped convicts. Gangs of these men infested the central tablelands. With the abolition of transportation and the extension of settlement, the convict bushranger disappeared. In the 1860’s bushrangers were attracted by the gold despatched by coach to Sydney. Despite the ‘Gold police” recruited at the last moment,  from whoever was available locally, the bushrangers  stole clothing, watches and money from William Blackman in 1840.

There were 400 convict in the Mudgee area used to work on the properties and roads. Mr Cox was known to promise emancipation to those who worked for him.

SOME OF THE OFFENCES FOR WHICH PEOPLE COULD BE SENTENCED TO TRANSPORTATION.

Stealing fish from a pond or river. Marrying more than one spouse at a time. Cutting or burning clothes. Counterfeiting. Cutting trees, stealing a shroud out of a grave. Watermen carrying too many passengers in the Thames, if any drowned.

The convicts were distributed among the settlers who clothed, supported and lodged them.

By 1836 the number in NSW was 20,207. They received wages from 10 to 15 pounds a year and were as well treated as similar servants in this country.

George Cox’s overseer, a ticket of leave man Tom Frome, apparently joined the local blacks on a spree. The huts on Menah were untouched having been guarded by an aboriginal boy Aaron and a native named Friday, who remained at Menah and afterwards at Burrundulla for many years. Aaron was later killed by the blacks at Dabee.

The first land grants in the district were to Colonel Johnston {the Lieutenant Governor of the colony} his brother in law Rope, his secretary ensign Bayley and Captain Steele.

Steele sold his grant ‘Menah” for 5/- an acre. Lawson became the largest land owner in Australia and the Coxes as a family, were perm ant settlers and are here today in the Mudgee district.

Robert Hoddle surveyed the holdings but did not design nor survey the town of Mudgee.

Richard Lewis decided on the low lying land between the old Woolpack Inn and the Cudgegong River. Mick Lahy pointed out the danger of flooding and the present site of Mudgee was then chosen.

1829 OIgilvie surveyed the town so that a village could be planned.

1838 The village of Mudgee started the year after Queen Victoria came to the throne. The first sale of Crown land within Mudgee took place in Sydney. William Blackman bought nine of the 18 blocks. Within three years thirty six houses had gone up and a mushroom growth of bush pubs.

1847 There are five pubs. William Blackman’s The Mudgee Hotel, The Bushman’s Arms, The Cottage of Content, The Tradesman’s Arms and The Welcome Inn.

1851.  The Cox and Lawson properties were partly subdivided for tenant farmers but almost overnight every free man went to the goldfields.

Mudgee was proclaimed a Municipality on 21st February 1860.

GOLD DISCOVERED.

1851 Edward Hargeaves found gold near Bathurst. Near the Ophir and the Turon. The Coxes, Lowe, Keel and Lewis found gold 16 miles from Mudgee at Meroo and Louisa Creeks.  Hargraves found a nugget so huge it had to be cut up for horse transport to Bathurst. The Holterman nugget, the largest ever known was found at Hill End. Children found gold at Pyramul

1857 Gold found at Piambong, Grattai, Merindee and Bruse’s Creek.

1859 Gold found at Appletree Flat, Green Swamp, Guntawang, Avisford, Stony Creek, Maitland Bar, Eurunderee{Golden Gully}, Gulgong, Hill End, Home Rule, Canadian Lead.

1870 Main gold rush in Gulgong. By 1873 there were 32,000 people there. Stores, a church, a theatre.

HISTORY OF WOOL AND SHEEP IN MUDGEE

Britain led the world in the quantity and quality of textiles. After a voyage of 8 months, Captain Phillip landed in 1788 with cattle, horses, sheep, goats and pigs He also bought 3 rabbits which was a big mistake as they are now in pest proportions in Australia and the wild pigs a lesser pest.

 In 1797 the first merino sheep were introduced. Captain Waterhouse of the ‘Reliance” sold his sheep to William Cox and this flock was the origin of the famous Rawdon and Burrundulla Studs. Then other Coxes founded Broombee and Wallinga studs. Havilah stud one of the oldest in Australia was founded by Nicholas Bayley, who managed Lawson’s properties at Mudgee, Collah and the Liverpool plains. During the 1840’s depression he was paid in sheep and secured Havilah which was sold in 1881 to H.C.White. The term ‘Mudgee Blood” will always be associated with fine quality wool.

HENRY LAWSON 17/6/867-2/9/1922

As Stratford is proud of Shakespeare, so Mudgee is proud of Lawson, whose childhood was spent in the Mudgee district in an environment of primitive mining camps, of gold and rum and bushrangers, of “gold police”{ no better than might be expected}, rough justice and life in the raw. These things coloured his writing to the end.

Although Lawson was neither born nor died in Mudgee, his parents were married here, his character was formed here, what schooling he had he received here and the fire of his genius was fed by this town, it’s countryside and the foibles and qualities of the people. Lawson’s poems about Mudgee and Eurunderee have been translated into almost every language.

Prior to 1851 the social pattern of the settlements were local land owning squires on great holdings such as Guntawang, Burrundulla, Menah and  Cassilis, subservient tenantry, and convict servants.

The Mudgee Pastoral and Agricultural Association in 1846 published this advertisement.

SCHEDULE OF PRIZES.

3 Pounds for the best ploughing with a team of 6 oxen.

2 pounds for a servant who has remained longest in the hired service of his master, with certificate of good behaviour during the period.

5 years later, the pattern had disintegrated forever.

There were not half a dozen adults left in any country town. The gold fields had “broken out.”

Among the thousands of diggers, was a deserter from a Norwegian ship, Peter Larsen, whose son Henry Lawson wrote this to describe the times.

“Oh who would paint a goldfield,

And paint the picture right,

As old adventure saw it,

In early mornings light

The yellow mounds of mullock

With spots of red and white,

The scattered quartz that glistened

Like diamonds in light.

The azure of ridges,

The bush of darkest green

The little homes of calico

That dotted all the scene.

The flat straw hats with ribands

That old engravings show-

The dress that still reminds us

Of sailors long ago.”

Into this environment Lawson was born in a tent on a diggings near Grenfell in 1867. His birth is registered as Henry Lawson. His father having tried his luck at various fields, came to Pipeclay where he met Louisa Abury, daughter of a timber getter, a woman determined to reform the world, but neglectful of the washing up. He returned to Eurunderee to one of the ‘Selections”, as Henry Lawson wrote

“shoved back among the barren ridges; dusty little patches in the scrub, full of stones and stumps and called farms, deserted every few years and tackled again by some little dried up family, or some old hatter. Farms with the same number of stumps in the wheat paddocks, the same broken fences and tumble down huts and years and the same weak, sleepy attempt made every season to scratch up the ground and raise a crop. And along the creek the German farmers- the only people there worthy of the name- toiling {men, women and children} from daylight till dark, like slaves, the elder sons stoop shouldered old men at thirty.”

At Eurunderee in childhood, Lawson lost his hearing, which accounts for the absence of auditory similes and imagery in any of his writings. Later he went to the Roman Catholic School in Mudgee. In the same street a few doors down, the Mechanics Institute Library, a very good library in those days, helped educate him formerly.. But his early childhood was spent in the environment of primitive gold mining camps, so his writing is a chaotic chronicle of the drovers and shearers, prospectors and bullockies of their endurance, wretchedness, brutality, chivalry, courage and triumph. Lawson’s descriptions make them real for us. He was a nomad himself and too direct to attempt tricks of style, plot or pattern. He simply saw Australian rural life in its most minute detail and transcribed what he saw into prose or verse, with a humour and pathos which were qualities of the life he shared.

Galleries and Studios

Settlers Store Antiques and Gallery sells old wares and a range of artworks, pottery and handicrafts. There is also a coffee shop. It is open from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. from Wednesday to Sunday and is located at
131 Mortimer St., tel: (02) 6372 3612. There are many other antique stores like Jane and Randall Reed's store on Church St. Check with the visitor's centre.

If you turn off the Cassilis Rd into Wollar Rd and follow it for about 9 km to no.889 you will come to Stony Creek Studio which is a mud-brick building in scenic surrounds displaying the works of Ross and Judy Kurtz. It is open 10.00am - 5.00pm Saturday and Sunday and most weekdays tel: (02) 6373 5266.

See Ardrossan's comprehensive list of Mudgee wineries on our links page. Frog Rock, Di Lusso{Italian wines and luscious figs} Vinifera{ Spanish wines} Creek's Edge {very old vines} on the Lue Rd and Elliot Rock for their famous Ice wine, Highfield wine and Cheese on the Cassilis Rd. There are so many wineries and cellar doors to visit, try and buy those you would like to take home. Just follow the tourist drive and winery signs posted all over town. Taking a wine tour is highly recommended. Susan and Ed will be happy to help you book a wine tour. A good idea to make reservations at restaurants on busy weekends so as not to be disappointed. Ardrossan is so close to Mudgee taking a taxi is advisable so you don't have to have a designated driver! Our favourites are Isabellas for Italian and the Thai restaurant Gallangher next door on Market St.{BYO} Eltons on Market St. Strattens on Market St make great meat pies. On Perry St The Wine Glass Bar and Grill for superb food and wine. The Lawson Park and The Oriental great lunch and dinners. The Blue Wren for dinner at a winery. So many neat places we can't name them all.

Pieter van Gent Winery
About 1.5 km further along Cassilis Rd (approximately 5.5 km from Mudgee) is another turnoff on the left into Black Springs Road where you will find the Pieter van Gent Winery. This small family winery, situated adjacent Pipeclay Creek, produces a chardonnay, a port and a white port. tel: (02) 6373 3030. Open 9.00 am - 5.00 pm Monday to Saturday and 11.00 am - 4.00 pm on Sunday.

Mansfield Wines
As you drive along Black Springs Road, en route to the Van Gent Winery, you will cross Eurunderee Rd, which runs east-west between Henry Lawson Drive and Cassilis Road. If you turn left into Eurunderee Rd you will soon pass Mansfield Wines on the northern side of the road. Established in 1975 it produces a substantial range of table wines, sparkling wines, fortified wines and grape juice. There is a friendship farm, a playground, picnic areas and catering for large groups. The cellar door is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Thursday to Monday., tel: (02) 6373 3871.


Huntington Estate Wines
About 2 km further along Cassilis Rd (7.5 km from Mudgee), on the left-hand side of the road, is Huntington Estate Wines which produces table wines and red wine for home bottling. The cellar door is open weekdays from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., Saturdays from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and Sundays from 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. The Huntington Chamber Music Festival is also held here, tel: (02) 6373 3825.

Steins Wines
A little over a kilometre further along Cassilis Road (about 9 km from Mudgee) is a turnoff on the right into Pipeclay Lane where you will find Steins Wines which produces cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon shiraz, chardonnay and semillon. The cellar door is open daily from 10.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.. There is a permanent motorcycle collection on display and a barbecue and picnic area, tel: (02) 6373 3991.

Botobolar Vineyard
About 10 km north-east of Mudgee, along Cassilis Rd, is a major turnoff, on the right, into Wollar Road. A little over 5 km along Wollar Road is another turnoff on the right into Botobolar Road. A short distance along, to the left, at no.89, is Botobolar Vineyard which produces organically grown wines. Varieties include shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, marsanne, crouchen and chardonnay. Barbecue and picnic facilities are available and lunches are provided by arrangement. The cellar door is open Monday to Saturday from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and Sundays and holidays
from 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m., tel: (02) 6373 3840.

Red Clay Estate
If you ignore the turnoff into Craigmoor Road and continue along Henry Lawson Road for about another kilometre then, to the left, at no.269, you will see Red Clay Estate. This family-owned boutique winery, built of
adobe bricks, produces chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, frontignac, pinot noir, rose, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and merlot. There are tranquil gardens, a gallery and barbecues by arrangement. The cellar door is open from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.from Friday to Monday, tel: (02) 6372 4596.

Mudgee Wines
On the other side of the road, at no.280, is Mudgee Wines. Established in 1977, Mudgee Wines grow their grapes without pesticides, herbicides or artificial fertilisers and ferment their wines without additives. They are open Thursday to Monday from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., every day in the school holidays and at other times by appointment, tel: (023) 6372 2258.

Lawson Hill Estate
Slightly further north along Henry Lawson Drive is the turnoff on the right into Eurunderee Road, along which lies Mansfield Wines (see previous entry). Beyond it is another turnoff on the left into Black Springs Road
where you will find Pieter van Gent Winery (see previous entry).

If you ignore Eurunderee Road and continue north along Henry Lawson Drive for about another 2 km you will see Lawson Hill Estate on the right, just past the Henry Lawson Memorial (see entry on Henry Lawson). B & B facilities are available. The cellar door is open Saturday from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. (closing at 3.00 p.m. on Sundays) and other days by appointment, tel: (02) 6373 3953.

Miramar Wines also Secret Garden
About another 1.5 km north along Henry Lawson Drive, to the left, is the award-winning Miramar Wines. Open from 9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. daily. Picnic facilities are available, tel: (02) 6373 3874.

Oatley Winery
Mudgee's oldest established vineyard (1858). More recently known as "Poet's Corner" cellar door. Don't miss the terrific wines and delightful cuisine. You can also take a walk through the historic museum section.


Burnbrae Vineyard
If you proceed north-west of Mudgee along the Gulgong Road you will come, after 3 km, to a turnoff on the left into the Hargraves/Hill End Rd. About 7 km along, to the right, is Burnbrae Vineyard which produces cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, merlot, chardonnay, semillon, sauvignon blanc and muscat. There are barbecue and picnic facilities and the cellar door is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily but closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays from November to February, tel: (02) 6373 3504.

Thistle Hill Vineyard
Just past Burnbrae is a turnoff on the left into McDonalds Road where you will find Thistle Hill Vineyard which grows its grapes organically. There are picnic and barbecue facilities. The cellar door is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (02) 6373 3546.

Mountilford Winery
42 km south of Mudgee along the road to Lithgow is the small settlement of Ilford. Mount Vincent Road heads east off the Lithgow-Mudgee Road to Mountilford Winery which is situated at an elevation of 1000 metres. Itproduces gewurztraminer, sylvaner pinot noir and offers accommodation and fine mountain scenery. The cellar door is open from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00.pm

Some Local Enterprises

HONEY

Honey Hive on Church St.

Mudgee Honey Haven is open daily just to the north-west of town, at the corner of the Gulgong Rd and the Hargraves Hill End Rd. There are numerous honey varieties, lavender products, jam and mustard to taste or buy, live bees on display, a putt putt golf course and morning or afternoon tea on offer, tel: (02) 6372 4478.

If you follow the Hargraves Rd west for about 8 km then turn left into Carara Rd you will come to The Fragrant Farm which has a herb nursery, a craft and book shop, a bric-a-brac barn, 1000 dolls on display, a 'friendship farm', a 60-seat restaurant, an attractive garden setting and fine views. It is open from Friday to Monday, from 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. as well as school and public holidays but closed in January, tel: (02) 6373 3571.

Windamere Dam
To get to Windamere Dam, on the Cudgegong River, head south-east along the road to Lithgow for 34 km then turn left. The main drawcard for recreation seekers is the fishing, though sailing and waterskiing are also popular.

Cudgegong Waters Park, located just off the Mudgee Rd at the southern end of the dam, has cabins, campsites, barbecue areas, on-site caravans, a concrete boat ramp and a kiosk selling bait, lures, ice, groceries and petrol.

There are plentiful stocks of golden and silver perch, with lesser numbers of Murray cod and catfish.

Frog Rock
Frog Rock is a natural rock formation by the roadside, 19 km north-east of Mudgee on the Cassilis Rd.

Munghorn Gap
Clearly signposted 34 km north-east of Mudgee on the Wollar Rd is Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve. There is a plenitude of interesting bird, animal and plant life, a picnic and parking area, and some walking tracks through the sandstone outcrops.

Cudgegong Rivers Park
Cudgegong River Park, 39 km west (the last 8-10 km are gravel road), is located on the eastern foreshores of Burrendong Dam. Water sports can be pursued and the fishing is excellent.

Goulburn River National Park
The Goulburn River National Park is located to the north-east of town. It covers around 70 000 ha of land adjacent the river which wends its way past sandstone cliffs, caves and gorges that contain some 250 Aboriginal sites, reflecting the fact that the area was situated on a major trading route between the coast and the western plains. The park is also a haven for animal, bird and plant life.

Access is via Ringwood Rd which bisects the park, joining Wollar to the Merriwa-Cassilis Rd. There are no camping facilities but plenty of opportunities for bush camping. A sign along the route points you to White Box Camp which is available for vehicle-based camping. Spring Gully is a campsite by the river, although it lies along what is really a 4WD track, suitable only in dry weather. This track departs from the road that runs between Wollar and Ulan.

The Wollemi State Park and Dunn's Swamp are both recommended for visiting. Check with the tourist office for directions.

Also along Ringwood Rd is a sign indicating a gem fossicking area to the left, which is one possibility that the park offers. Bushwalking is another obvious attraction. A number of creeks can be followed westwards
from Ringwood Road down to the river. The most easily accessible trail is that to Lees Pinch Lookout. A signpost indicates the starting point of the walk. It is but a short distance to some spectacular elevated views from the escarpment to the eastern section of the park. Swimming, canoeing, photography and wildlife observation can also be pursued.

Topographic maps and further information are available by ringing (02) 6543 3533.

Tours
There are a number of tour operators in the District ranging from horse
drawn carriages to tours of the wineries. Contact the Mudgee Visitor
Information Centre for more details.

Mudgee Gulgong Visitor Centre
84 Market St.
Mudgee NSW 2850
Telephone: (02) 6372 1020
Facsimile: (02) 6372 2853
Email: info@mudgee.org

Lot's more Mudgee Tourist links here.

A good alternative to a hotel in Mudgee-Gulgong :: Explorer Country Accomodation :: Mudgee tourist attractions

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