Bathurst

Bathurst is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, some 200 km west of Sydney, mostly known for the Bathurst 1000 racing event.

Understand

The area's traditional owners are the Muurrai clan of the Wiradjuri people. The British town was founded in 1815 as the first inland European settlement on the Australian continent and Bathurst quickly became an expanding regional centre. Its wealth grew considerably during the first wave of the Australian Gold Rush in the 1850s and to this day plays off its history and gold rush heritage to attract visitors. Today it is a modern rural city, with good visitor facilities and walking down the main street you may be mistaken for thinking you're in a major urban centre.

Being inland of the ranges, Bathurst has greater temperature extremes than the coast. Summer days can be very hot, and there can be an occasional day of snowfall in winter. Bathurst also has areas of colourful leaves and flowers in the autumn and spring.

Get in

By car

Bathurst is approximately 2.5 hours drive west of Sydney. Cross the Blue Mountains on either the Great Western Highway from the Penrith area or the Bells Line of Road from the Windsor area. On the other side of the mountains, follow the Great Western Highway from Lithgow to Bathurst.

The road between Lithgow and Bathurst is straight and quick with parts of it being a divided highway, however expect significant traffic delays when crossing the Blue Mountains away from Sydney on a Friday afternoon or returning to Sydney at the end of a weekend.

By train and bus

1 Bathurst railway station sees the following services:

• NSW TrainLink XPT. Bathurst is a stop on the Daily XPT Service from Sydney to Dubbo. The cost will be around $70 return, but the service allows a full day to visit Bathurst. Arriving Bathurst early morning and departing late afternoon. You must book this ticket online with NSW Trainlink before travelling.
• NSW TrainLink Bathurst Bullet (Unbooked). The Bathurst Bullet is an unbooked service that leaves Bathurst for Sydney early morning, and returns to Bathurst late at night. Its primary purpose is to give Bathurst residents access to a day in Sydney. This train accepts Opal, so the most you'll pay is $8.50 each way. Less if you have other Opal discounts.
• NSW TrainLink Lithgow Train and Coach. There is a NSW TrainLink coach that meets the Lithgow train. You'll find the timetable on the Sydney trains website. You have two choices with this service. You can use Opal all the way, and ring NSW TrainLink to reserve a seat on the coach for no additional charge on 13 22 32, and pay the Opal fare (always less than $8.50), or you can book the service online for $11.80. This is an identical service no matter which way you use it. Your seat is reserved on the coach, and unreserved on the train in any event. You'll simply pay more if you use the NSW TrainLink website to book.

By plane

• 2 Bathurst Airport (BHS  ^IATA) (The airport is around 8km from the centre of town). There are no regular passenger flights to or from Bathurst. Australia Wide Coaches have daily connections from Sydney airport.  

By coach

Australia Wide Coaches or Sydney Transport Group have an express service from Bathurst to the Sydney City and on to Sydney airport every morning, and return in the afternoon. Price is less than the booked regional train service, but more than unbooked intercity train service.

Get around

By foot

Most attractions are within five or six blocks of the Bathurst train station.

By bus

Bathurst Buslines offers are extensive service to Bathurst and surrounding area. Monday to Friday it offers a useful service. Saturday is limited, and Sunday there is no service. You pay your fare on boarding, and the services do not accept Opal. The most useful route for tourists is route 526 that operates in the central business district. This bus stops at the train station, the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, at the base of Mount Panorama, and some hotels and restaurants.

See

The Bathurst visitors information has three self-guided walking tours available to explore the history of Bathurst.

• 1 Holy Trinity Church, Kelso, Gilmour St, ☏ +61 2 6332 4606. Su 1:30PM-4PM or by arrangement. The first inland church in Australia, built to serve the Anglican parish of Kelso that was founded in 1825. It was the first Australian church consecrated by a bishop and is built on a hill overlooking Bathurst, surrounded by an historical cemetery. (updated Oct 2020)
• 2 Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum, 224 Howick St, ☏ +61 2 6331 5511. M-Sa 10AM–4PM; Su 10AM–2PM.. This museum is home to the Sommerville Collection with approximately 2000 fossil and mineral specimens on display; temporary exhibitions are also featured. On display is Australia's only complete T-Rex skeleton but don't be fooled – it is only a cast.  
• Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, 70-78 Keppel St, ☏ +61 2 6331 6066. Tu-Sa 10AM - 5PM, Sundays and public holidays 11AM - 2PM. Monday by appointment only. The gallery has a range of Australian art from 1955 onwards as well as other exhibitions that are traveling through. 
• 3 National Motor Racing Museum, Murray's Corner, at the foot of Mount Panorama, ☏ +61 2 6332 1872. The National Motor Racing Museum showcases an impressive array of motorcycle and car racing memorabilia from all over the country.  
• 4 Carillon War Memorial, 3 Church St. A memorial to the soldiers from Bathurst fighting in both World Wars. (updated Oct 2020)
• 5 Cathedral of St Michael and St John, 107 William St, ☏ +61 2 6331 3066. A heritage-listed cathedral constructed in 1861. (updated Oct 2020)
• 6 Ben Chifley's House, 10 Busby St, South Bathurst, ☏ +61 2 6333 6111. The former residence and now house museum of Australia's 16th prime minister who led the country from 1945 to 1949. This museum is remarkable - it clearly shows the simple, almost ascetic life that Mr & Mrs Chifley led. A visit to the house has become something of a rite of passage for those Labor politicians with leadership ambitions. A good look around will take about an hour. (updated Oct 2020)
• Bathurst Court House, next to Machattie Park. This is one of the finest court house buildings in New South Wales. The main building together with its two wings form a marvellous rectangular forecourt. The area inside the building where litigants and defendants wait for their matters to be called on has a well proportioned clerestory. The building has been carefully maintained inside and out. If you have time, a look around the inside of the building is well worthwhile. The court is open most week days. (updated Nov 2024)
• Abercrombie House, Ophir Road. This is arguably rural Australia's finest 19th century house. It has massive granite walls with ornate curved gables. Most of the interior has been furnished with furniture and materials imported from Scotland or elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The wall paper in the front of the house is original. The ballroom at the rear has an 8.6 metre gold leaf ceiling!
  It takes about an hour to look around the house or a little longer if you want to explore the gardens as well.
  It is interesting to contrast the opulent living in this house with the simple living of Prime Minister Chifley near the railway tracks down the hill. (updated Dec 2024)

Do

• Drive around Mount Panorama racecourse. The road is open to public vehicles when there aren't races on. Note that the speed limit on the mountain is 60 km/h and it is strictly enforced: police set up radar traps regularly. Good views of Bathurst can be had from McPhillamy Park on Mount Panorama. Very rarely do you see public racecourses with driveways, though this happens to be one of the few. 
• Bathurst Miniature Railway (John Mathew’s sporting complex in Durham Street Bathurst), ☏ +61 2 6331 5798, bxminirail@gmail.com. 3rd Sunday of the month. $2. 

• Bathurst Gliding Club, 167 Freemantle Rd Eglington. One of Australia's largest gliding clubs. The club arranges trial flights for interested newcomers and has open days from time to time. (updated Dec 2024)

Events

• The Bathurst 1000. The Bathurst 1000 is an annual 1000-km motor race for touring cars in the Supercars Championship, held once a year in October at Mount Panorama just outside Bathurst. The weekend of the Bathurst 1000 attracts Bathurst's largest contingent of visitors.
• Bathurst Show

Learn

Charles Sturt University has a Bathurst campus in Panorama Avenue in the south of Bathurst. ph 6338 4000. Its B Arts (Communications) degrees in theatre, journalism, advertising and public relations among others are particularly well regarded.

Eat

• Zieglers Cafe, 52 Keppel St, ☏ +61 2 6332 1565. This cafe does well prepared modern dishes, some of the desserts in particular are excellent. The best thing about it is the atmosphere though: nicely lit at night it's a haven against some of Bathurst's colder nights, and at lunch time you can sit in dappled light under the grapevine leaves outside. 
• 1 Cobblestone Lane, 173 George St, ☏ +61 2 6331 2202, reservations@cobblestonelane.com.au. Modern and fancy Australian cuisine in a heritage-listed building that was built in the 1860s. (updated Feb 2018)

Sleep

• Citigate Mount Panorama Bathurst, 1 Conrod Straight, ☏ +61 2 6338 1888. MTrackside at Mount Panorama V8 raceway. 118 rooms with views of Conrod Straight and Caltex Chase 
• 1 Knickerbocker Hotel, 110 William St, ☏ +61 2 6332 4500, admin@knickerbockerhotel.com.au. Has a country-style bistro and pub. (updated Oct 2020)

Stay safe

The weekend of the Bathurst 1000 is a risky time to be driving in the area: the fans are keen to emulate their heroes, and reckless driving is much more common than at other times.

Go next

The second large town in the area, Orange, is only half an hours drive west on the Mitchell Highway, and several bus services run between the two every day.

The interesting historical gold mining towns of Sofala and Hill End are about an hours drive away if you want to try your luck panning for gold.

Abercrombie Caves offer a less crowded alternative to the more famous Jenolan caves. Cave tours are available (as well as a self-guided tour). The route via Abercrombie is a scenic route to Canberra and the Southern Highlands.

Turon National Park is about 70 minutes drive via the town of Capertee. The park does not have activities as such but is to be enjoyed by merely camping beside the river for a day or two. A high clearance vehicle is required for some sections. Do not be misled by your mapping app into thinking that there may be a quick shortcut into the park from the south. The only feasible route is via Capertee.

Routes via Bathurst

Broken Hill ← Orange ←	W  E	→ Lithgow → Sydney
Dubbo ← Orange ←	W A32 E	→ Lithgow → Sydney
Wagga Wagga ← Cowra ←	SW A41 NE	→ END