100 Towns

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. 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.

1. Blayney environs 2. Fly-in-fly-out miners 3. Busy main street, even though it's Sunday 4. Royal Hotel 5. Railway container terminal Blayney is a prosperous town with a population of around 3000 people. In 1837 the area where the town came to be had a mill, an inn and several houses. It got a nudge along when gold was found in the region, resulting in the many history villages found in the area today. With the arrival of the railway in the 1870s the town flourished further. The railway is now the location for a container terminal and is also visited daily by the Sydney to Dubbo XPT passenger service. Today the town benefits from nearby gold mining operations and other industries which have been attracted to establish in the area as well as from the rural economy.  There is also a wind farm outside the town. See the location of Blayney on the map.

1. Bathurst Court House 2. Spring garden display near the War Memorial 3. Bathurst city street 4. Attractive old housing 5. St Stephen's Church 6. Mount Panorama race circuit 7. The Royal Agricultural Show 8. Historic Abercrombie House 9. Charles Sturt University Bathurst is Australia's oldest inland settlement, a modern city with an historic past.  With a population of 34,000 today it is a busy regional centre serving the rural community. It also has a strong manufacturing base, government departments and a university. The 1850s gold rush started in this area. Substantial historic buildings built with the wealth from that time are visible throughout the city. It is a popular tourist destination with the famous Mount Panorama race track is easily spotted by the name emblazoned on the mountain. There is an old Royal Hotel (now renamed) which I am still to locate  and photograph. It is an attractive, accessible city and a great base for exploring the countrysid...

1. Map of Obley as it was 2. Old building still standing  3. Newer building 4. War Memorial Obley is what I call a "relic town". It had all the town things - a school, churches, butchers, bakers, general store, post office, police station, community hall, two hotels (including a Royal Hotel) and like all towns sent their young men to war. 13 went and 5 didn't come home. They say the police station and community hall remain as private residences but all the rest of the buildings are gone. It was a camping ground for teamsters and there was a nearby gold and copper mine. The railway passed Obley by, going instead through Yeoval where the gradients were not as steep. So the town dwindled to nothing but its young men are remembered. See Obley's location on the map.

1. Cudal cultural centre 2. Old garage 3. Old shop 4. Royal Hotel Cudal 5. War Memorial 6. Canola fields Cudal, population 380, serves the local farming community. Wool, fat lambs, cattle, wheat and canola are the main produce in the area. While there are shops that have seen better days it has full small town infrastructure and is a pleasant spot to visit when touring this rather attractive rural area. And if you are looking for accommodation I believe the Royal Hotel can put you up. See Cudal's location on the map

1. Sofala Main Street 2. Old cottage 3, General Store 4. Mural depicting Sofala's mining history 5. Odd fellows hall 6. One of many attractive old buildings 7, Sofala Royal Hotel 8. Back yard shed 9. Old shop now being spruced up 10. The spruce up job 11. Sofala from the Ilford-Bathurst Road Sofala is the oldest surviving gold-rush town in Australia. The rush in the area began when Edward Hargraves discovered gold in 1851 and took just a few months for thousands of people to set up mining operations in the valley. Fossickers can still find gold in the river. Today with a population of just 280 people the town survives on its history. The main street is bordered by many original two-storey wooden gold rush buildings giving it a unique aged character. A great place to visit and explore. Well prepared for tourists. See Sofala's location on the map