Sofala, NSW, is 255 kilometres northwest of Sydney in the Bathurst region. This historic and quirky village developed after alluvial gold was discovered in 1851.
The Wiradjuri People
The name Wiradjuri, is derived from the Aboriginal context meaning “no” or “not”, with the suffix -dhuurray or -juuray meaning "having".
The Wiradjuri people of today's Bathurst region were the most easterly of the Wiradjuri, and also the largest Aboriginal group in central New South Wales.
Made up of small bands of about 25 to 50, the Wiradjuri people were hunter-gatherers, an adaptive strategy requiring much knowledge and skill. Wiradjuri people also manipulated the landscape through burning regimes.
Whilst moving about, Wiradjuri People constructed lean-to structures using bark sheets, or saplings tied together, then covered with bark, leaves or grass.
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| Hunting scene involving Aboriginal man, 3 native dogs, and rock wallaby by G. Krefft, 1857 |
Skin cloaks were stitched together using kangaroo sinew and decorated with totemic designs using a mussel shell scraper.
At initiation (burbung: male initiation ceremony), Wiradjuri males had a front tooth knocked out and often piercing of the nasal septum with a stick or bone. In many areas of Australia this practice was customary for men and women.
At this time, Aboriginal culture understood death and disease to be part of sorcery and magic, so they sought explanations, such as Tharrawiirgal (spirit being) lost his tomahawk (and sent smallpox into the valley in revenge). And one of Baiame's (a creator spirit) wives was stolen by a white man, and he was angered into retaliatory action. (Carey and Roberts, 2002)
Wiradjuri also used steam pits of eucalyptus leaves for the treatment of colds. Read more about Wiradjuri people
Ongoing hostilities led to Governor Brisbane declaring martial law on 14 August 1824, which ended four months later on December 11. Two weeks later Windradyne decided to make peace at the Governor’s Annual Feast.
1960s
1970s
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| Aboriginal carved tree, Central West, NSW, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930) |
The arrival of the British resulted in the confrontation between people with very different beliefs, technology and land use. And Aboriginal people, separated from the rest of humanity for 50,000 years, were also exposed to diseases to which they had no immunity.
The Wiradjeri, a warrior culture, were no longer able to hunt and gather in the traditional way with the advent of European fencing, which led to hostility. Led by Windradyne, the first hostilities are believed to have begun in early 1822, on the Cudgegong River, when some stockmen were attacked and livestock was released or killed. After that, there were attacks on settlers and convict workers.
The Wiradjuri people revere the memory of Windradyne today. His heritage-listed gravesite at "Brucedale" is located 1361 Sofala Road, Sofala, NSW.
1851: Gold Rush
The Turon Goldfield was the second goldfield to be discovered in Australia. The first gold in Sofala was found by men named Lester and Raffael at Golden Point, 3/4 mile east of the village.
William Rogers, as well as being a builder at the Sofala diggings, ran a public house known as The Land We Live Inn and functioned as an undertaker.
William Day, convict and bushranger, was born and christened as William Dedicoat, transported to Van Diemen's Land as William Jones, married as William Day after moving to Sofala about 1851, where he worked as a blacksmith, carpenter, coffin-maker and undertaker.
Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal (NSW : 1851 - 1904), Saturday 17 January 1852
There was a great deal of unrest on the Turon Goldfields from 1851-3, resulting from the devastation caused by floods and the struggle over the monthly miner's licence, which charged 30 shillings a month, aimed at discouraging men from abandoning their jobs (and often families) and flock to the gold mining centres.
W. J. K. Piddington, the Methodist Minister, mounted the dais and implored the men not "to rush madly on the bayonet". His words had effect, and bloodshed was averted. The government then modified the licence regulations.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT]
Sofala, 15th January.
"The inhabitants of the Turon were to-day thrown into a state of excitement by the sudden and incredulous announcement of a large nugget of gold having been found on Spring Creek. The report, however, shortly became verified by the owner gratifying the anxious curiosity of the residents with a view of the precious metal. It is a most beautiful nugget of pure gold, without a spec of quartz or mixture, weighing one hundred and twenty-four ounces, being by far the largest nugget found on the Turon gold-field."
The shantytown at the eastern end of Sofala, where the Chinese lived was known as the Isle of Dreams for its opium dens. Today wild asparagus and opium poppies may still be found growing in the vicinity.
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| A Wiradjuri warrior, thought to be Windradyne |
1851: Gold Rush
Sofala was once a busy mining centre, with thirty thousand hopeful diggers searching for gold. Now, most of the town and wattle-and-daub dwellings have disappeared. In its hey day, Sofala sprawled along 16 kilometres of the Turon River, with more than 40 licensed hotels.
After Edward Hargraves discovered gold at Summerhill Creek on 12 February 1851, a tent city sprang up across the valley. Both the Royal Hotel and a General Store were built in 1851. The Gas Hotel opened in late 1851.
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| The Gas Hotel was one of the first two hotels licensed in 1851, Sofala, NSW, Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954), Friday 2 July 1937 |
In November 1851, the township site was surveyed and proclaimed in the Government Gazette.
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| Labor Call |
Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal (NSW : 1851 - 1904), Saturday 17 January 1852
According to Matthew Higgins's book, Gold and Water, a history of the Turon (1990), the situation at Sofala reached the brink of armed insurrection and was a precursor of the Eureka Rebellion. Hundreds of miners expressed their resentment of the monthly licence and marched into Sofala town, four abreast, accompanied by fife and drum. The Reverend Palmer pleaded with the men to avoid violence.
Troopers gathered, and 800 miners massed. On hearing that the four men sent as a deputation to the gold commissioners had been arrested, the crowd cried out, "To the rescue!" and surged towards the river. Violence seemed inevitable..
Troopers gathered, and 800 miners massed. On hearing that the four men sent as a deputation to the gold commissioners had been arrested, the crowd cried out, "To the rescue!" and surged towards the river. Violence seemed inevitable..
By 1855 Sofala could still be described as "a narrow street, lined on each side with shabby wooden and calico huts".
MONSTER NUGGET OF PURE GOLD. |
| Constable Codrington was born about 1832 and joined the Gold Escort about 1854. At the time of his death he was stationed at Cheshire Creek Barracks (Bathurst/Peel area).Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954), |
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT]
Sofala, 15th January.
"The inhabitants of the Turon were to-day thrown into a state of excitement by the sudden and incredulous announcement of a large nugget of gold having been found on Spring Creek. The report, however, shortly became verified by the owner gratifying the anxious curiosity of the residents with a view of the precious metal. It is a most beautiful nugget of pure gold, without a spec of quartz or mixture, weighing one hundred and twenty-four ounces, being by far the largest nugget found on the Turon gold-field."
The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) Thursday 21 January 1858
1860s: The Chinese
The 1861 Census (NSW) recorded that 1877 of the 3420 males in the Sofala Registry District were Chinese, and 642 Chinese men lived in the town of Sofala (there were no Chinese born women). The Chinese saying, “returning home with glory” (man zai rong gui) explains why most of the Chinese miners returned to China (Williams, 2018). There were also anti-Chinese riots at Turon (1853)."For a number of years, interments were made in the churchyard, where many of the Sofala pioneers are resting. A number of Chinese were buried there, their bones being exhumed later by their countrymen and sent to China...."
Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954), Monday 16 August 1937
"Two bushrangers with black crape on their faces, stuck up a Chinaman last night, about fourteen miles from Tambaroora, on the road to Sofala."
Bell's Life in Sydney and Sporting Chronicle (NSW : 1860 - 1870), Saturday 29 August 1863
Bell's Life in Sydney and Sporting Chronicle (NSW : 1860 - 1870), Saturday 29 August 1863
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| Chinese settlement at Sofala, NSW, called the Isle of Dreams |
The Town and Country Journal reported in 1870, that at Sofala, “terrestrials and celestials appear to hob-nob together with that degree of intimacy which naturally comes of long acquaintance.”
Town and Country Journal, 30 July 1870.
One day when the coach was nearing Sofala, some escaped convicts "stuck it up." One of the occupants, an Irish schoolmaster from Tambaroora, was wearing the old fashioned double-breasted pants to hide his money.
The rangers looted the coach of its valuables and, coming upon a case of gin, caused great consternation by forcing every occupant—women included—to imbibe to such an extent that they all became drunk. The prodding of the fat and excited old schoolmaster in the stomach with the barrel of a gun was a humorous spectacle to the driver. The Irishman afterwards explained that he was that frightened that he could see the bullet shining down the barrel.
"At the peak period of the field's prosperity, it is estimated that there were 30 hotels at, and around, Sofala....'The Land We Live in' stood in Barclay-street. Swain's hotel and Foreman's 'Barley Mow' were in Denison-street, the former being, the last house on the right side of the street, while the
'Barley Mow' occupied the site of Burton's Royal Hotel, a fine two storeyed premises,......"
Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Monday 16 August 1937
The Cobb and Co, Coach
The Royal Hotel was established in 1862. The Cobb & Co booking office is now part of the bar. There were also two other hotels in 1866, Sofala Inn and Barley Mow. The Barley Mow also having a Cobb and Co booking office. Jim Lowe drove the first Cobb and Co. team from Bathurst to Sofala. |
| James Lowe (Cobb and Co's first driver on Sofala-Bathurst run) Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser (NSW : 1876 - 1951), Monday 7 June 1937Veteran Coachman's Memories of the Roaring Days - MR. WILLIAM MALONEY. |
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| MR. WILLIAM MALONEY. Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser (NSW : 1876 - 1951), Monday 21 June 1937 In 1869, Maloney Senior inaugurated a four-horse coach to run daily from Hill End to Sofala, where it connected up with Cobb and Co., which continued the journey to Bathurst. James Rutherford, the last remaining partner of the original Cobb and Co. was the proprietor at this time. |
In 1877, at age of twelve, young "Bill", itching to feel the sway of the old coach beneath him, made his first trip in complete control. That was the commencement of a remarkable career—one of thirty-six years' continued coach driving, broken only by three months' absence during the whole period.
The coach used to leave Hill End at 4 a.m. each day and arrive at Sofala at 9 a.m., a distance of 33 miles. The run from there to Bathurst was controlled by Cobb and Co., but later on, "Bill" Maloney took over this part of the journey and ran a through service to Bathurst daily. The trip took twelve hours. All the horses used were sure footed thoroughbreds.
One day when the coach was nearing Sofala, some escaped convicts "stuck it up." One of the occupants, an Irish schoolmaster from Tambaroora, was wearing the old fashioned double-breasted pants to hide his money.
The rangers looted the coach of its valuables and, coming upon a case of gin, caused great consternation by forcing every occupant—women included—to imbibe to such an extent that they all became drunk. The prodding of the fat and excited old schoolmaster in the stomach with the barrel of a gun was a humorous spectacle to the driver. The Irishman afterwards explained that he was that frightened that he could see the bullet shining down the barrel.
Billy Maloney composed the following song, which he would sing as the coach rattled along:
NOW, LOOK HERE, COBB AND CO.
Now, look here, Cobb and Co.,
A lesson take from me;
If you meet me on the read,
Don't you make too free.
For, if you do, you'll surely rue,
You think you do it fine,
3ut I'm a tip-and-slasher
Of the Tambaroora line.
I can hold them, steer them,
And drive them to and fro,
With ribbons well in hand, me bhoys,
I'm bound to make them go.
With me foot well on the brake, lads,
I'm bound to make them shine.
For I'm a tip-and-slasher
Of the Tambaroora line.
Now, look here, Cobb and Co.,
A lesson take from me;
If you meet me on the read,
Don't you make too free.
For, if you do, you'll surely rue,
You think you do it fine,
3ut I'm a tip-and-slasher
Of the Tambaroora line.
I can hold them, steer them,
And drive them to and fro,
With ribbons well in hand, me bhoys,
I'm bound to make them go.
With me foot well on the brake, lads,
I'm bound to make them shine.
For I'm a tip-and-slasher
Of the Tambaroora line.
1937 'Gold Digging Days', Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954)
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| William James Maloney leaving Hill End, NSW, for Bathurst in 1883 (the Bathurst-Sofala-Hill End line), Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Monday 9 August 1937 |
The Town
"The first Anglican church erected at Sofala was a quaint old structure of weatherboard and shingles. It somewhat resembled the old church at Tambaroora, though the latter was less elaborate in construction, the walls being of slabs, the roof of stringybark, and the floor of bare earth....."Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954), Monday 16 August 1937
'Barley Mow' occupied the site of Burton's Royal Hotel, a fine two storeyed premises,......"
Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Monday 16 August 1937
"The business people are nearly all old residents.
Mr. Moritz Mendel, the keeper of the principal hotel, has
lived on the spot since the first year-1851.
There are three churches - the Church of England,
Roman Catholic, and Wesleyan all wooden buildings ;.
schools, two - the Church of England, certified, Mr. H.
Blythe, master, with forty-six children on the roll (a
wooden building) ; and the Catholic, certified (a fine brick
structure), with a roll of forty-nine. The hospital,
although not a building of much pretensions, yet is made
the most of ; it has four beds for patients, and is scru-
pulously clean and well kept. The post and telegraph
station occupies a central situation in the town-a wooden.
building, by all accounts well managed. One of the most
respectable edifices in the main street is the Bank of New
South Wales, doing a fair business under the management,
of Mr. Adams. One of the worst buildings is the Court -
house, a dilapidated ancient ruin, soon to be replaced by a
good one-for the sake of justice, the sooner the better.
The police force consists of two troopers and a lockup,
keeper, in charge of sergeant Casey, a most energetic and
intelligent officer, who also acts as mining registrar,......"
Mr. Moritz Mendel, the keeper of the principal hotel, has
lived on the spot since the first year-1851.
There are three churches - the Church of England,
Roman Catholic, and Wesleyan all wooden buildings ;.
schools, two - the Church of England, certified, Mr. H.
Blythe, master, with forty-six children on the roll (a
wooden building) ; and the Catholic, certified (a fine brick
structure), with a roll of forty-nine. The hospital,
although not a building of much pretensions, yet is made
the most of ; it has four beds for patients, and is scru-
pulously clean and well kept. The post and telegraph
station occupies a central situation in the town-a wooden.
building, by all accounts well managed. One of the most
respectable edifices in the main street is the Bank of New
South Wales, doing a fair business under the management,
of Mr. Adams. One of the worst buildings is the Court -
house, a dilapidated ancient ruin, soon to be replaced by a
good one-for the sake of justice, the sooner the better.
The police force consists of two troopers and a lockup,
keeper, in charge of sergeant Casey, a most energetic and
intelligent officer, who also acts as mining registrar,......"
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 31 March 1873
The old Sofala courthouse built in 1874 was re-modelled and opened as a new hospital by 1934.
"Medical attention was always sought of Doctors Walker, Andrews, or Hinton, who dispensed their own medicines at Sofala. When aggrieved parties sought redress at law, they could present their case to Mr. Bridson, P.M., who presided at the temple of justice over sixty years ago at Sofala, and who gained unsought and unmerited notoriety through his son, who had the audacity to horsewhip a local clergyman who was much esteemed by the people."
1870s
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| Miners cradling for gold at Box Ridge near Sofala, NSW, circa 1870 |
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| Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser (NSW : 1876 - 1951) |
Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser (NSW : 1876 - 1951), Monday 30 August 1937
"Sofala was blessed with many good old tradesmen, one Patrick Hennessy, who ran a store and bakery in Denison near the old Bank of N.S.W, and opposite the present post-office."
The Census of 1901 in Sofala recorded a Chinese joss house on the Turon River.
By 1913 mining had mostly ceased.
The steel-and-concrete "Crossley Bridge," was named after Mr James Crossley, the local postmaster and coroner, who was instrumental in securing its erection in 1929-30.
Dr Cecil Rutherford Darling, who was about 80 years old, became the medical superintendent of the Sofala hospital. However, after being interviewed by detectives, the doctor went missing.
"Sofala was blessed with many good old tradesmen, one Patrick Hennessy, who ran a store and bakery in Denison near the old Bank of N.S.W, and opposite the present post-office."
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| Patrick Hennessy's store at Sofala, NSW, Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954), Thursday 12 August 1937 |
The Post Office was built in 1879.
The police Station was built 1895 and the old Sofala Goal not long after.
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| National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW : 1889 - 1954), Thursday 27 February 1896 |
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| The Turon Bridge. The new bridge over the Turon, near Sofala, was officially opened on October 20Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 6 November 1897 |
1900s
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| Sofala, NSW, about 1900, Wrench Collection |
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| Post Office, Sofala, Turon River, New South Wales, ca. 1900, NLAUST |
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| The Turon River Gold-dredging Company, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 16 June 1900 The Turon River Gold-dredging Company began operation in mid-June 1899. Plant consisted of a floating pontoon carrying 20-hp boilers and a 16-hp engine, steam winches and a small donkey engine. There were three dredges on the Turon, but mostly, two dredges were used, recovering 29,319 ounces of gold, averaging 2.5 grains per cubic yard. The dredges worked until 1914 when they were dismantled near this site. See more |
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| The public school at Sofala, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 9 November 1904 |
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| A prospector's home on the Turon diggings, NSW. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 21 December 1910 |
WWI
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| Critic (Adelaide, SA : 1897-1924), Wednesday 29 December 1915 |
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| Corporal R. Morgan, M.M. Of Turondale, N.S.W., has been twice wounded and has been awarded the Military Medal for bravery. Befoire enlisting he was a mail concontractor from Sofala to Turondale. jHis youngest sister took up this work three yearsago to allow him to enlist. Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 21 August 1918 |
1920s
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| Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954), Monday 11 August 1924 |
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| Sofala township, New South Wales, 1925 / Harold Cazneaux |
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| Sofala from th eTuron, NSW, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 22 September 1926 |
There are three cemeteries at Sofala: the General Cemetery and the Catholic and Anglican cemeteries.
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Saturday 1 October 1927 |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Saturday 1 October 1927 |
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| A motorist strikes trouble in fording a stream near Sofala, NSW, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Thursday 26 January 1928 |
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| To open up a shorter and easier route from Bathurst to Mudgee and thence to the Northern Highway, a concrete bridge was constructed across the Turon River at the historic gold-mining township of Sofala. Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 23 October 1929 |
1930s
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| Sofala Football Club, NSW, 1933, Blue Mountains Library, Local Studies |
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| Footbridge spanning the Turon River, Sofala, NSw, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 6 March 1935 |
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| The former Christ Church Anglican Church, Sofala is no longer functioning. The church dates from about the 1850s, in line with the adjacent cemetery, which opened about 1851. The present building was erected about 1966. No other details are known. Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954), Monday 16 August 1937 |
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| Sofala, NSW, Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Sunday 31 October 1937 |
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| MINERS' ARMS HOTEL, AT WATTLE FLAT (close to Sofala). Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954), Wednesday 22 September 1937 |
1940s
Russell Drysdale's landscape of the Sofala Township won the Wynne art prize in Sydney in 1948.
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| Sofala, NSW, about 1940s |
1950s
Whilst many Sofala residents described Darling as being particularly charming — especially to women, detectives said that they believed that Harry Cecil Rutherford Darling was the alias of Andrew John Gibson, who was described by Scotland Yard as one of the most daring impostors, bogus doctors and deceivers of women in the history of crime.
Gibson (Dr Darling) had been convicted for manslaughter while acting as locum tenens at Stoke-on-Trent Maternity Hospital in Britain in the 1940s. He was not actually a qualified medical practitioner and was described by British police as a “callous, unscrupulous, persistent rogue.”
Location shooting was done in Sofala for The Kangaroo Kid, a 1950 Australian-American Western film directed by Lesley Selander.
Mr Fred Smith, licensee of the Sofala Hotel, said: "I picked him for a phoney right away. He came in here for a nip of brandy every morning about 10. When a man says he only takes a little nip, buys a whole bottle, and then comes back next day with his hand shaking, you know what to think".
1950 '"Doctor" had 100 patients', The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), 28 May |
| Truth (Sydney, NSW : 1894 - 1954), Sunday 28 May 1950 |
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| Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Sunday 28 May 1950 |
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HOLLYWOOD STARLET: Martha Hyer, who is playing one of the leading roles in the Embassy-Brown Australian production, 'The Kangaroo Kid.' The film is at present on location at Sofala, near Bathurst.Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954), Tuesday 28 March 1950 |
1960s
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| Sofala (nsw). General Store & a new Peugeot 404... 1967 |
The Cars That Ate Paris was filmed mostly in the town of Sofala.
1980s
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| Sofala, NSW, 1986, Michael Middleton |
1990s
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| General store, Sofala, NSW, 1990s. The general store was built in the 1860s |
2020
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| NSW Corps parading in Sofala, NSW (re-enactment of the period 1788 - 1810) |
Around Sofala
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| This building located at the junction of Turondale and Hillend Roads, NSW |
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| Sofala, NSW |
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| Anglican Cemetery and convent in the background, Sofala, NSW, denisbin |
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| The former police Station was built c1895 to a Government architect design. And the Old Sofala Goal, NSW |
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| The grave marker of Wong Gee, who died in 1907, and is believed to have been a market gardener. The gravestone is a shaped sandstone marker with the words : in memory of Wong Gee who departed this life June 5th 1907, aged 75 years, Sofala, NSW |
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| Built in 1966 to replace the old, "Wattle and Daub," Anglican Church, Sofala, NSW |
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| The Royal Hotel, Sofala, NSW, built, 1862 |
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| The Oddfellows Hall, Sofala, NSW, built 1892 |
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| The Gas Hotel was one of the first two hotels licensed, in 1851, Sofala, NSW |
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| St Joseph's Catholic Convent and School, opened St Patrick's Day 1868, bricks of local clay fired in kilns located across the Turon river, Sofala, NSW |
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| Hyland's Commercial Hotel, Denison Street, was constructed on the site of the original Globe Hotel, Sofala, NSW. Still retains the original cellar in the kitchen area. |
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| The former Gold Commissioners House from December 1851, Sofala, NSW |
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| Gold era cottage, Sofala, NSW |
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| Main Street, Sofala, NSW |
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The former Chinese settlement on the Isle of Dreams, Sofala, NSW
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Things To Do and Places To Go
Old Sofala Goal Café and Museum: Barkly St, Sofala NSW 2795
OLD CONVICT TIMES to GOLD DIGGING DAYS