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| The Post Office building
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Forbes
Substantial country town famous for its connections with
the bushranger Ben Hall.
Forbes is a substantial rural settlement of some 8500 people
on the Lachlan River. It is 245 m above sea-level and 387 km
west of Sydney on the Newell Highway between West Wyalong
and Parkes.
Forbes has some fine parks and gardens associated with a
large lagoon known as Lake Forbes which bisects the town.
The rural economy is based around a major saleyards complex,
an abattoir, feed lots, beef and hay exports, wool, wheat,
grain seed crops, oil seed crops, fruit and vegetables.
The area was occupied by the Wiradjuri people prior to
white settlement. The first Europeans to set foot on the
future townsite were the party of John Oxley who camped here
in 1817 while engaged on one of the first inland
expeditions. Oxley named the site 'Camp Hill' but was
unimpressed with the clay soil, poor timber and swamps. In
fact, he concluded, 'it is impossible to imagine a worse
country'.
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| Ducks on Lake Forbes
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Nonetheless a run named 'Bogabigal' was established here
around 1834. However, the town did not emerge until gold was
discovered by Harry Stephens in June 1861 at what is now
King George V Park (there is a memorial to that effect in
the park).
The lure initially drew about 30 000 people to the
Lachlan goldfields which centred on what was initially known
as 'Black Ridge', after the ironbarks which once
predominated. This tent city was later renamed 'Forbes',
probably after Francis Forbes, the first chief justice of
NSW.
The influx of people meant opportunities for service
providers such as the Albion, the first hotel, which
allegedly sold the greatest quantity of alcohol in Australia
during the 1860s.
It has been claimed that, during the first two years,
8100 kg of gold were turned up although, by 1863, the
population had declined to 3500 due to poor conditions, the
small size of alluvial claims and seepage from the Lachlan
River into the mine shafts.
Inevitably there were those who sought to lay their hands
on the riches by easier methods. A number of bushrangers,
including Frank Gardiner, Ben Hall and Johnnie Gilbert,
worked together as a gang, harrying the area from 1862 to
1865.
Hall came to the Lachlan area when he was 12 and
purchased a station in the Weddin Mountains in 1860. He was
tried for armed robbery in 1862 but acquitted. Upon his
return to the property he found his house burned down, his
cattle dead and his wife had run off with a former
policeman. Some say he was the victim of a police vendetta.
At any rate there is no doubt that he became a full-time
bushranger from that time.
In 1862 the gang pulled off the largest Australian gold
robbery of the century near
Eugowra. Hall was arrested but released when gang
member, Dan Charters, refused to implicate his best friend.
However, he was shot dead in a hail of gunfire about 20 km
to the north-west of town on May 5, 1865 and is buried in
the Forbes cemetery. Johnny Gilbert was killed shortly after
and Frank Gardiner was released from gaol in 1874 on the
grounds that he leave the country.
Although the bulk of the gold was soon removed the town
did not fade away. It possessed the advantage of being
located on the main overland stock route between Victoria
and Queensland. Moreover, earlier pastoral activities were
resumed and agricultural pursuits, particularly the growing
of wheat, began to flourish, in large part due to French
settlers J.B. Reymond and Auguste Nicolas who also developed
a weir and irrigation system, established the first sawmill
(1861) and the first vineyard and winery.
Forbes was declared a municipality in 1870. The first
sheepdog trial in Australia, and possibly the world, was
held here in 1872. The railway arrived in 1893 and the local
economy expanded to include orchards and dairying.
Agriculture was further enhanced with the construction of
Wyangala Dam in 1935.
The Forbes Show is held in September, the Festival of
Roses in November, the Jazz Festival in January and the Bush
Traditions Folk Festival in August. The Forbes Hang-gliding
Championships are held each January.
Things to see:
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| The Town Hall
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Tourist Information
Forbes Railway Arts and Tourist Centre is situated in the
old railway station in Union St. It is open daily from 9.00
a.m. to 5.00 p.m, tel: (02) 6852 4155.
If you are interested in rural attractions such as
farmstays or visits to alpaca and deer farms, dairies, feed
lots and irrigation farms, ring (02) 6952 1822. For guided
tours of the area call Robyn Brenner on (02) 6852 1277 or,
after hours, (02) 6852 2431.
Town Walk - Lake Forbes
A good spot to start your walk is in the scenic parkland
adjacent Lake Forbes, off Gordon Duff Drive. The Vampire Jet
atop the pole was introduced into the RAAF in 1949. The lake
has excellent picnic spots around its shores.
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| Lake Forbes
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Government Buildings
Follow the lake (and Gordon Duff Drive) around to Camp St
and walk along the latter, past the all-timber
Federation-style Lands Office (1890s). Cross the highway and
enter Victoria Lane. To the left, is the Classical Revival
courthouse (1880).
St Andrew's Presbyterian Church
At the end of Victoria Lane, turn right into Harold St. St
Andrew's Presbyterian Church was built of rough stone in
1877. It has an impressive octagonal bell-tower and spire, a
steeply-sloping slate roof and some fine stained-glass
windows.
Court Street
Court St has a number of impressive historic features. At
the Harold St corner is the two-storey stuccoed town hall,
delightfully capped by a dome atop a three-storey octagonal
tower.
Almost opposite is the Vandenberg Hotel with its large
timber verandah, cast-iron columns and iron lacework.
Originally the Court House Hotel, this two-storey, stuccoed
brick building was erected in 1863.
Over the road is Victoria Park with formal gardens and
some venerable old trees. The Grecian design fountain,
donated by Mayor Thomas in 1891, and band rotunda are the
focal points.
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| St John's Anglican Church
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St John's Anglican Church is a majestic rough-stone
Gothic Revival edifice with graceful gables, built in
1874-77.
At Court and Lachlan Sts is a major element of the local
streetscape - the two-storey stuccoed brick post office
(1879-81). The ground-floor colonnade and arched first-floor
windows are capped by an unusual three-storey clock tower.
Albion Hotel and Bushrangers Hall of Fame
Over the road is the Albion Hotel, built when the town was
first founded in 1861. It was partially destroyed by fire
and rebuilt from 1888-93. Cobb and Co. used the hotel as a
changing station and booking office from 1863. Agents used a
lookout tower, sounding a bugle at the approach of coaches,
whereupon a fresh team was made ready for a quick
changeover. The interior retains some original fittings. Of
particular interest is the Bushrangers Hall of Fame which is
located under the hotel. It is well worth visiting. There
are a number of huge enlargements of old photographs and a
good collection of memorabilia.
Anglesey House
Turn right into Lachlan St then right into Templar St. To
the left is stately Anglesey House (1884), originally the
residence of a former mayor and now a neighbourhood centre.
A stuccoed brick and stone mansion, it features some fine
floral lacework and a tiled mosaic walkway. There are stone
stables at the rear.
National Bank and Art Gallery
Return along Templar St and turn right into Lachlan St. Just
past Spring St, to the left, is the Classical form of the
CBC (now National) Bank building, erected in 1884.
Adjacent is the Upstairs-Downstairs Gallery and Craft
Centre, open daily.
Forbes Museum
Turn right into Cross St where you will find the Forbes
Museum. It has a Ben Hall section and items of local
European and Aboriginal history. The museum is open from
3.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily in summer and from 2.00 p.m. to
4.00 p.m. in winter.
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| The Bishop's House
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Oxley Memorial and Catholic Church
Return to Lachlan St and turn right. At the intersection
with Johnson St is a park with a memorial in honour of
explorer John Oxley, the first European in the area, who
passed through the future site of Forbes near this spot in
1817.
Turn up Johnson St. To the right, just past Farrand St,
is the Catholic Church of St Laurence O'Toole (a
12th-century Irish archbishop). The nave was begun in 1877
with the sacristy and sanctuary added in 1902.
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| Ben Hall's grave
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Forbes Cemetery
Further along, Johnson St becomes Bogan Gate Rd. Along here
you will find the Forbes Cemetery which contains the grave
of notorious bushranger Ben Hall, shot to death by a hail of
gunfire to the north-west of town in May 1865. The site of
the shooting is indicated with a marker (enquire about
directions from the historical museum or visitors' centre).
Fellow gang-members John O'Meally and Warrigal Walsh were
buried in unmarked graves (as was Hall initially).
Nearby is the grave of Ned Kelly's sister Kate, who
married here in 1888 and drowned in the Lachlan in 1898.
Captain Cook's great-grandniece Rebecca Shields is also
interred here.
Forbes Worm Farm
Forbes Worm Farm is located in Shorthorn St, 600 m off the
Newell Highway. It is open seven days, tel: (02) 6851 1259.
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| Statue of Ben Hall
outside the Lachlan Vintage Village
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Lachlan Vintage Village
Lachlan Vintage Village, 1 km south of town, is a display
intended to reflect the culture which existed on the
goldfields from 1860 to 1900. The Brittania Gold Mine
demonstrates the various aspects and techniques of gold
mining and you can have a go at panning for gold.
The village features a collection of original or
recreated buildings from the era, including wattle-and-daub
miners' huts, an old schoolhouse, a blacksmith's, an old
woolshed which now houses a restaurant, the hut of 'German
Harry' who started the Lachlan goldrush, Ben Hall's
farmstead, Henry Lawson's house and the grog shanty of
Patrick O'Meally, established in 1838 on the Old Forbes Road
(his son was a member of Ben Hall's gang).
There is also a steam train and a working farm in the
mode of the 1860s, complete with horse-drawn equipment, farm
animals and 'Nelungaloo' homestead (1870s), now adorned with
period furniture. The complex is open from 8.00 a.m. to 5.30
p.m. daily, tel: (02) 6852 2655.
Gum Swamp
The Gum Swamp Bird Hide is a wetland sanctuary for at least
158 bird species which use the area in the course of the
year. It is a breeding and nesting area and a refuge in
drought conditions. The sanctuary is located 4 km south on
the right-hand side of the Newell Highway. A related
brochure is available from the tourist information centre.
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Forbes
