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| The Exchange Hotel in the
main street of Grenfell |
Grenfell
Historic goldmining town - Birthplace of Henry Lawson
Located 372 km west of Sydney, 213 km from Canberra and 384
metres above sea level, Grenfell is an interesting and
historically significant town which is known to most
Australians because the poet and short story writer, Henry
Lawson, was born on the nearby goldfields at Emu Creek.
Prior to European settlement the Grenfell area was home
to the Wiradjuri Aborigines whose lands stretched from
Bathurst to the Victorian border. Small, efficient groups
roamed this area hunting and gathering and occasionally
coming together to celebrate particular events and to
socialise.
The first European to settle in the district was John
Wood whose huge 'run', which he called 'Brundah', included
the present townsite. Wood arrived in 1833 but it took 33
years, and the sharp eye of Cornelius O'Brien (a shepherd
working for Wood) to realise there were rich gold deposits
on the property.
Miners flocked to the area in 1866 and although it was
known as Emu Creek it was subsequently renamed Grenfell to
honour the late John Grenfell, Gold Commissioner at Forbes.
Grenfell had been on a stage coach which was held up and
fired at by bushrangers. He was shot and died the following
day in Narromine. The year was 1866.
The gold had attracted bushrangers to the district. They
were particularly attracted to the rugged Weddin Mountains
where famous bushrangers, including Ben Hall, Johnny Gilbert
and Frank Gardiner, spent much of their time.
For the next decade gold dominated the town's economy. By
1870-71 it was producing more gold than any other town in
NSW. However by the mid-1870s gold was in decline and
agriculture was in the ascendancy.
Wheat was first grown in the district in 1871 and by 1875
the Grenfell Pastoral, Agricultural & Horticultural
Association had been formed.
By the early 1880s wheat dominated the local economy. It
also helped speed the construction of the railway which
arrived in 1901.
Things to see:
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| The memorial at Henry
Lawson's birthplace near Grenfell
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Henry Lawson Obelisk
The Emu Creek diggings are long gone and in their place are
the local sports fields. Clearly signposted off the road to
Young (to the south of the town) is a large obelisk which is
located where Peter Larsen (Henry's father) had his bush
tent. Henry Lawson was born here on 17 June 1867. Each June
long weekend the Henry Lawson Festival of Arts is held. It
attracts Lawson lovers as well as poets, writers and singers
to the town.
Historic Grenfell
Unlike most Australian country towns Grenfell has a main
street which bends and, in turn, George Street which runs
behind the Main Street is also shaped like a gentle arc.
Most of the town's interesting historic buildings are
concentrated in these two streets and it is a journey into
the past to wander up and down these two historic
thoroughfares. Any serious look at historic Grenfell should
include:
Courthouse
Located in Camp Street this attractive brick court house has
6-paned sash windows and a large verandah. This was built in
1873 to replace an earlier Courthouse built in 1867 out of
corrugated iron and timber slabs and described as 'a small
corrugated iron pot in which justice fries and freezes and
culprits melt away.' It is a typical solid country
Courthouse of its era.
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| The Railway Hotel
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Grenfell Lockup
With gold came crime - and with crime came the lockup. The
first lockup was nothing more than a wooden shed. The
present building was built in 1877 in Church Street near the
present Police Station.
Grenfell Historical Museum
Located on the corner of Camp and Weddin Streets in the old
School of Arts building (1896) it is considered one of the
best rural museums in New South Wales. It was opened as a
museum in 1976 during the Henry Lawson Festival.
Oddfellows Hall - George Street
This building with its elaborate facade and high iron
ceilings was built in 1888 after fire destroyed the previous
building. The Manchester Unity Independent Order of
Oddfellows was established in Grenfell in 1873 and the first
hall was completed in 1874.
George Street
As you continue down the street you will notice the
Tattersalls Turf Hotel (1888) with its old archway where
horse-drawn coaches used to drive into the courtyard, the
Bank of NSW (1890), now a private residence, the old
Salvation Army Citadel (1883) now the local Band Hall and
The Railway Hotel (1879) and stables.
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| The old School of Arts
(1896) now the Museum |
Searching for Ben Hall
Ben Hall is one of Australia's most infamous bushrangers. He
grew up in the area and, in 1862, was charged with horse
stealing and armed robbery. No one knows the reasonableness
of the charge. Hall was held for five weeks before being
released. When he returned home he found his wife had left
and gone to live with an ex-policeman. He joined Frank
Gardiner and Johnny Gilbert in what became known as the Ben
Hall gang.
Like most bushrangers Ben Hall's reign was short-lived.
Effectively it lasted from late 1863 until his death on 5
May, 1865. The Australian Dictionary of Biography's analysis
of Hall's gang is: 'Hall was probably the most efficient of
the bushranger leaders. His men were well armed and superbly
mounted, often on stolen race-horses which easily outpaced
the police nags.'
Ben Hall's Homestead
Now nothing more than a signpost in a paddock it still
offers an insight into rural life (and isolation) in the
1860s. To get there head west on the Mid-Western Highway
from Grenfell. After 23 km turn right at Pullabooka. After
another 12 km turn right to Forbes. The site is about
250-300 metres along the road. It is said the house burned
down in 1862.
Ben Hall's Cave
Head south from Grenfell on the Young Road. After about 10
km turn right on the Bimbi-Grenfell Road and 2 km after
Bimbi turn north on Nowlands Road. There is an alternative
route to the north of Grenfell via Back Piney Ridge Road.
The cave is clearly signposted. It is a half hour walk from
the car park. It is now widely accepted that Ben Hall used
this cave for shelter. It is an ideal vantage point to see
approaching parties of troopers.
Weddin Mountains National Park
Located south-west of Grenfell the Weddin Mountains National
Park covers 8361 hectares and can be accessed from a number
of roads. The shortest route is only 15 km via Holy Camp
Road which lies only 1 km south of the town. At the end of
this road is a camp site and a walking track to Euraldrie
Trig station.
Weddin Mountains National Park was gazetted as a Wildlife
Reserve in 1962 and a National Park in 1970. As Lyster
Holland wrote, in an excellent publication for the Young
Historical Society: 'The southern side consists of a series
of large and small valleys with rugged spurs between them.
All the water sheds travel south and some of these valleys
wind their way through the mountain to the northern summit
with their floors carpeted in mountain grass, beautiful
ferns and wild flowers. Some thirty different varieties of
orchids have been identified, tall iron and stringy barks
and giant gums spread an evergreen umbrella overhead and in
some valleys, sheer sandstone cliffs rise from the valleys
up hundreds of feet.'
Holland recommended that visitors in the area could (a)
walk to the trig station where, on a clear day, you can see
Mount Canobolas nearly 120 km to the north (b) go camping on
the southern side of the mountains (c) go birdwatching - the
Weddin Mountains National Park has a sheet which lists 92
native species which can be seen in the park (d) go for a
drive in the early morning and evening and keep an eye out
for emus and kangaroos.
The publication also suggests a number of interesting
walks.
Similarly the National Parks and Wildlife Service have
printed a 'Weddin Mountains National Park - Historical
Aspects' sheet which has a good map which directs the
visitor to Ben Hall's Cave, Jack Tarr's Inn (now in ruins),
Bow Cave (hideout of bushranger Johnnie Bow), Wentworth
Homestead, Black Spring Gully (famous in the 1860s for its
illicit rum still), the Weddin Gap trail and the Old Mill.
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Grenfell
