trail

Towns · Gulgong, NSW

Gulgong gold-town walk

Six stops through a gold-rush town, from the diggings to the lookout, in the words of the poets who knew country like this.

6 stops · about 1.8 km · Mostly flat footpaths around the town centre; the lookout stop has a gentle rise.

1The diggings2Herbert Street3The old schoolhouse4The creek flats5The church on the hill6The lookout

Print the sheet (one page per stop, with the safety note)

Walking with a school group? Stay on footpaths, cross at marked crossings, keep the group together, and carry water. One adult to eight walkers is a good rule.
  1. Stop 1

    The diggings

    There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around That the colt from old Regret had got away,

    The Man from Snowy River — Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson (d. 1941)

    Gold was found here in 1870 and ten thousand diggers followed within a year. Start where the rush started: dust, noise, and horses at the gallop.

    Onward: Walk east into Herbert Street, about four minutes.

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  2. Stop 2

    Herbert Street

    I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, years ago;

    Clancy of the Overflow — Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson (d. 1941)

    The main street keeps its 1870s shopfronts. Clancy's letter went bush; yours can go home from the post office on this street.

    Onward: Continue south along Herbert Street to the old schoolhouse, about five minutes.

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  3. Stop 3

    The old schoolhouse

    Gulgong boyhood (curator note; no excerpt taken) — Henry Lawson (d. 1922); curator's note, no lines quoted

    Henry Lawson (d.1922) spent his boyhood in gold towns of this district in the 1870s, and schooled among miners' children. His verses of the gold years belong to streets like this one.

    Onward: Drop down to the creek flats, about six minutes. Take care crossing.

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  4. Stop 4

    The creek flats

    By channels of coolness the echoes are calling, And down the dim gorges I hear the creek falling;

    Bell-Birds — Henry Kendall (d. 1882)

    Henry Kendall (d.1882) wrote of cool gorges and falling creeks further east, but bell-birds carry across any quiet water in this country. Stand a minute and listen.

    Onward: Climb back to the church on the hill, about seven minutes.

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  5. Stop 5

    The church on the hill

    The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke (curator note; no excerpt taken) — C. J. Dennis (d. 1938); curator's note, no lines quoted

    C. J. Dennis (d.1938) wrote the city larrikin, but the Bloke's courting Sundays began in churches like this weatherboard one. Gold-town weddings filled these pews.

    Onward: Finish at the lookout above the town, about eight minutes uphill.

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  6. Stop 6

    The lookout

    New South Wales forest verse (curator note; no excerpt taken) — Charles Harpur (d. 1868); curator's note, no lines quoted

    Charles Harpur (d.1868) walked and wrote the forests of New South Wales before most of these streets existed. Look out over ironbark ridges and read the town backwards to the diggings.

    Onward: The trail ends here. The town centre is a ten-minute walk downhill.

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Waypoint positions are approximate (town-centre offsets) and must be ground-truthed before print. Distances are indicative.