100 Towns

1. Court House 1837 2. Corney's Garage 1945 3. Shamrock Inn 1860s 4. Church Presbytery 5. Former Royal Hotel 5. Catholic Church Hartley is an historic village preserved and managed by the NSW Parks and Wildlife service. Located on the western edge of the Blue Mountains it started as the farmlands beyond the mountains were developed. In particular, the court house served as a policing centre for the growing population. A busy village sprung up around it though over time it dwindled to practically a ghost town but didn't disappear because it was mostly built from sandstone. Today as you descend the mountains you see this lovely cluster of buildings beside the highway.  It's well worth diverting from the highway to have a look.

1. Poplar trees by the roadside  2. Plough I have not done justice to this small town.  We were at the end of a long day's driving.  It is a small active community but I have not at this point been able to find anything about its history. It is clearly part of the agricultural fabric of the area today.

1. Central Hotel, Eugowra 2. Rocky outcrops 3. Museum and bushranger centre Australia's only large gold escort robbery occurred at Escort Rock just outside Eugowra by Frank Gardener's bushranger gang which also included Ben Hall.  The rocky outcrops that surround the area provided perfect cover for the bushrangers.  Today the area supplies granite from these rocks. The town of Eugowra sprung up beside a river on one of the large stations in the area, with pubs and shops joining together to make a town in the 1860s. There are quite a lot of murals decorating the walls of the old shops, unfortunately I didn't get a shot of one of these.

1. Manildra flour mill 2. Old and modern grain silos 3. Royal Hotel, Manildra 4. War Memorial Hall Manildra is a small town (population 500) with one big industry, the Manildra Flour Mill the largest in the southern hemisphere. It also has an old picture theatre, said to be the longest running in Australia. It's a neat and tidy town with hotels, schools and other community facilities.

1. Royal Hotel, Yeoval 2.  Banjo Paterson memorial 3. Sculpture Abstract Head of Henry Moore, by Drago Cherina 4. Bikes in trees Yeoval is a small town (population 400) with a mining history and a railway line now closed.  Its main claim to historic fame is that the bush poet Banjo Paterson lived the first 7 years of his life in the town.  This is celebrated with the annual Mulga Bill Bicycle Festival and bikes in trees mark this event. A recent addition has been the huge sculpture at Banjo Paterson park, a pleasant picnic spot down by the river.

1. Royal Hotel, Cumnock 2. Old bank 3. Old shop 4.  Animals on bikes promotion 5. One of the animals on bikes 6. Another animal on bike Cumnock (population 288) is a small town with a big sense of fun and enterprise.  They were the first to start the $1 farmhouse rental scheme made famous by the recent ABC documentary of a similar scheme at Trundle. The community also inspired the Animals on Bikes trail of paddock art which runs from Molong to Dubbo and now has over 100 whimsical creations to surprise and delight, The grain silo stands sentinel beside a railway line that is closed, the historic buildings have seen better days but this is community of today.

1. All Saints Anglican Church, Baldry 2. Eden Hall Baldry is a community rather than a town.  The church built in 1889 and the hall in 1906.  Both are still in use by the local rural community which farms sheep, cattle and grain.

1. Former church, Garra 2. Another former church 3. Home that look like it might have been a school 4. Abandoned dwelling Today Garra it is a small community with evidence of a bigger past with substantial church buildings.  It was not on the railway route and doesn't appear to have had gold mining so probably existed to serve the farming community or as a staging post. The one claim to fame I found was that Charles Henry Packham the breeder of the Packham pear had his orchard in the area and that he is buried at the Garra cemetery. Garra is off the beaten track, a sleepy hollow that is likely to remain that way.

1. Bank Street, the main street of Molong 2. Heritage railway station now the local library 3. Grain silo by railway line 4. Gelato factory 5, Poplars in Autumn Heritage buildings line the main street of Molong, a town actively serving the local community within this rich farming district for wheat, sheep, wool, cattle, orchards and wineries. Like most of the region the railway arrived in the 1890s but the station is today closed and used for the local library. And also typical of the region a grain silo stands beside the railway line. The many poplars make Molong picture perfect in Autumn but it is a great spot to visit at any time of year.  On a hot day visit the local gelato factory where local fruit is turned into tasty sauces.

1. Municipal gardens - Autumn  2. Municipal gardens - Autumn  3. Roadside parkland - Autumn  4. Apple harvest - Autumn  5. Royal Hotel - Winter  6. Roadside parkland - Spring  7. Mount Conobolas snow gums - Summer mist Orange is a vibrant modern city of 38,000 people.  It's history started back in the 1820's and it is also close to the gold fields of Ophir where the first payable gold was found.  The city is replete with elegant buildings from colonial times, wide tree lined streets and beautiful parks and gardens. The Royal Hotel, modernised in the 1930s, was the passenger pick-up point for Cobb and Co coaches. Beyond the city, orchards and vineyards abound.  Almost half of the NSW apple crop comes from this region. Mount Canobolas and Lake Canobolas are also lovely spots to visit. This is a very attractive city and well worth spending some time here and in the surrounding region.