Bathurst

 Bathurst

On Sunday we joined the Travel Club for a much anticipated coach tour to Bathurst.  The weather was disappointing and rained for most of the day.  This was our first long trip since the intervention of Covid and the first trip for the Travel Club in two years, since the pandemic began.  It was therefore a big disappointment that the windows in the bus were fogged up for most of the trip and the journey up the Blue Mountains was in heavy fog and little better when we drove down the Victoria Pass to the Western plains beyond.  However, it was nice to be out and about again and exploring a bit more of New South Wales.

It is a few years since we were last in Bathurst, but it was nice to be back again and see that everything looked much the same.  Not much has changed in the main street, but probably a little more development has taken place around the railway area and around the Rail Museum where we were headed.  The Museum is housed in an extension of the Railway Institute building which also holds a scale model of the Main West railway from Tarana to Bathurst during the 1950's and 1960's and is complete with operating model trains.   

Bathurst is a railway town and the completion of the railway between Sydney and Bathurst over mountainous country in 1876, was hailed as a marvel of engineering and opened up trade in the developing colony of New South Wales.  

The Bathurst Railway Station is a heritage listed High Victorian Gothic building built in 1876.  It has Dutch gables topped with finials, bay windows and a cast iron verandah.   There is still a regular daily train service to Bathurst.

Locomotive 5112 is on display outside the Railway Station.  It was driven by Ben Chifley, when he was an engine driver, before becoming Prime Minister from 1945 to 1949.  Ben Chifley was born in Bathurst and did courses at the Bathurst Railway Institute.  

The Station Master's Residence is a grand two-storey brick house built around 1876 in the Gothic Revival style.  

The slate roof has been restored which will help it to survive for many more years.

Cambria Terrace.  This lovely old row of Terrace houses is in Havannah Street.  It was built prior to 1882, after the Gold Rush days.  

I like the wrought iron balustrades on the upstairs balconies.

War Memorial Carillon with memorial to Surveyor Evans in foreground.  I took this photo under cover from the rain across the road looking into King's Parade.  

The Carillon has 35 bells and was built in 1933 as a memorial to the men of Bathurst and surrounding District who served in the First World War.   I think there are plaques honouring other wars.  The doors around the base lead to an interior featuring an eternal flame.  However, I am not sure whether this flame is still in existence.

St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church.  This Gothic red brick church was built in 1872.  It was designed by Sydney architect Thomas Rowe and built by James Douglas.  

It was too wet to get any closer to this church so I took the photo standing under an awning on the other side of the street.

We had lunch at Jack Duggans Irish Pub in George Street where I had a traditional Irish Stew which was simply delicious.  Ken had Fried Liver and Bacon with onion gravy, which he couldn't resist, as it was a favourite meal when he lived in Liverpool in the UK many years' ago. 

After lunch, we had a short time to wander around taking photographs of historical buildings.  I would have liked to visit All Saints Anglican Cathedral, but there was no time as we had to leave on the bus for the journey home. 

We had a great day, despite the terrible weather. 

Acknowledgements

1.  Wikipedia (information about Ben Chifley)

2.  NSW War Memorial Register (information about Carillon)

3.  The Experience Heritage Bathurst brochures series produced by National Trust Bathurst.