Bathurst was founded in 1815 on the orders of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and is the oldest inland town in Australia. It was intended to be the administrative centre of the newly discovered western plains of New South Wales. Bathurst's economy was transformed by the discovery of gold in 1851. It later became the centre of an important coal-mining and manufacturing region. Today it is a regional services centre, the home of Charles Sturt University, and a tourism centre.
Bathurst is known as the home of Labor Prime Minister Ben Chifley, who represented the area in the Federal Parliament and is buried in Bathurst. It has also become a national centre for motor-racing.
City of Bathurst websiteExternal links
Bathurst 24-hour motor race website