The town of Bowral is located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, 132 kilometres (82 mi) south-west of Sydney.
The name Bowral is thought to come from the Aboriginal word 'Bowrel,' which means 'high.'
Gundungurra Aboriginal People
Their traditional
lands of the Gundungurra Aboriginal People includes present
day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shire, the Blue Mountains and the Southern Highlands. Aboriginal people did not stay around Bowral during the colder months.
The first description of the Gundangara language was undertaken by R. H. Mathews in 1901. (see below)
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| 'The Organisation, Language and Initiation Ceremonies of the Aborigines of the South-East Coast of N. S. Wales' (1900), Robert Hamilton Mathews (written jointly with M. M. Everitt) |
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| 'The Organisation, Language and Initiation Ceremonies of the Aborigines of the South-East Coast of N. S. Wales' (1900), Robert Hamilton Mathews (written jointly with M. M. Everitt) |
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| 'The Organisation, Language and Initiation Ceremonies of the Aborigines of the South-East Coast of N. S. Wales' (1900), Robert Hamilton Mathews (written jointly with M. M. Everitt) |
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| Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 14 August 1875 |
Some Mythology of the Gundungurra Tribe, New South Wales, R. H. Mathews,
hereThe Gundungurra Language, Author: R. H. Mathews, here
'The Organisation, Language and Initiation Ceremonies of the Aborigines of the South-East Coast of N. S. Wales' (1900) (written jointly with M. M. Everitt), here
The native tribes of South-East Australia by Howitt, A. W. (Alfred William), 1830-1908
The recollections of William Russell or "Werriberrie", described as the "Chief Man of the Gundungorra Aboriginals of the Burragorang Valley", are recorded by A. L. Bennett. Here
1790s
The Bowral area was first explored in 1798 by a former convict named John Wilson and his team, who were sent to explore the region by Governor Hunter. As the first European to climb the mountain, Wilson learned from local Aboriginal people the name 'Bowrell', which meant 'a high place'. Surveyor Sir Thomas Mitchell also climbed Mount Gibraltar with an Aboriginal guide. Read more
1800s
Botanist George Caley, who arrived in New South Wales in April 1800, spent the next ten years extensively exploring the new colony including from Parramatta down to Jervis Bay, until his return to England in 1810. His Aboriginal guide Moowattin, who had been adopted by convicts, who had arrived on the First Fleet, was of great assistance and was also, a great friend.
(2.)
On 22 July 1814, Macquarie authorised Warby and John Jackson to lead an armed party of twelve Europeans and four native guides to track down and capture five Aboriginals who had been identified as responsible for a recent series of attacks on white settlers (Goondel (chief of the Gandangarra tribe), Bottagallie, Murrah, Yellamun, and Wallah). The party returned without making contact. (1.)
Hamilton Hume began
exploring New South Wales in 1814 when he reached the Berrima-Bong bong district.
In 1817, Governor Lachlan Macquarie gave Charles Throsby land and the small town of Bong Bong began, about 7 kilometres north of Bowral today.
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| Major-General Lachlan Macquarie was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, and had a leading role in the social, economic, and architectural development of the colony. |
1820s
The land on which most of Bowral is built today, is the eastern portion of a grant of 2400 acres made to John Oxley by Macquarie in 1823, in recognition of his services. He never lived there, but his sons began sheep and cattle farms.
The first house at Bowral was a rough bark hut, built by the Oxley family in 1825.
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| A typical early settler bark hut |
1830s
In 1831, Edward Riley received 3,000 acres (about 12 square kilometers) in what is now East Bowral. He later passed the
land on to his son, George.
1850s
in Mr Oxley's diary of the year 1850, he speaks of the extensive bushfires, and also of heavy snowfalls,
covering Gibraltar and the surrounding hills. (
3.)
The earliest Anglican service in the district is dated from an 1853 Christmas Day service conducted in the Oxley family home. J N Oxley donated land for an Anglican Church in 1859.
In 1857- 1858, John Oxley's sons, John Norton Oxley and Henry Molesworth Oxley
built 'Wingecarribbee' homestead.
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| . Wingecarribbee House, Bowral, NSW |
1860sTwo hundred acres were laid out as a private village in 1862 , with surrounding country becoming farming blocks. The village was called Wingecarribee, then Burradoo and later Bowral.
The first hotel at Bowral was built in 1862 and named the 'Wingecarribee Inn.' (where the current Royal Hotel is)
The first Anglican building was a Church/Sunday School/School building which was
completed in 1863.
In 1864, Wesleyans (Methodists) built a chapel on Bendooley Street.
Bowral railway station
opened on 1 March 1867.
1870s
Bowral began shipping milk to nearby towns in the 1870s.
In 1874, a new Anglican church, St. Simon and St. Jude, replaced the first one. It was designed by Edmund Blacket.
1880s
The Queen Anne style School of Arts at 16-24 Bendooley St, was built in 1884. (the 2nd school of arts)
The second hotel named 'The Grand Hotel & Motel,' was built in 1887.
1890s
The first Catholic Church of Bowral was built in 1891, on Banyette St.
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| NEW COUBT- HOUSE, TOWN-HALL, AND SCHOOL OF ARTS, BENDOOLEY- STREET, BOWBAL.Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 28 March 1896 |
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| ' WARWICK '— BOWRAL LADIES' SCHOOL, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 7 November 1896 |
 THE BOWRAL LAWN TENNIS COURTS. NSWSydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser |
| (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 7 November 1896 |
1900s
'When this land had been in the possession of the Oxley family some 40 years, it was surveyed and cut into farms and allotments by the Surveyor General's two sons, R. N. and H. M. Oxley. Owing to its 'proximity to the metropolis and its beautiful bracing climate, these gentlemen felt sure that when. the railway— which had been surveyed through their land— was constructed, and Sydney beginning to be overpopulated, this would be made a popular health resort ; and it was with this idea present in their minds that, in about the centre of their property, which was called the Wingecarribbee Estate, they laid out a town and cut the land into small allotments. This embryo town, was given the name of ' Bowral,' and it had not long been surveyed when certain of Camden's citizens cast longing glances in fts direction, and at last bundled together their few possessions and migrated to this new land, which, at that time. was a wild bush with a few cow and ca.it tracks through it.'Robertson Advocate (NSW : 1894 - 1923), Tuesday 7 June 1904
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| 'Waldron' at Bowral, N.S.W. - early 1900s, Kaye |
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| Bong Bong Street, Bowral, N.S.W. - very early 1900s, Kaye |
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| The Gib, Bowral, N.S.W. - early 1900s. Mount Gibraltar Trachyte Quarries Complex is a heritage-listed former stone quarry on Mount Gibraltar at Oxley Drive, Bowral, Wingecarribee Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was worked from 1886 to 1986. It is also known as The Gib. Kaye |
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| Messrs. G. W. Marsden (Bowral Golf Club) and A. J. Miller. (Moss Vale Golf Club). Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 20 May 1908 |
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| Eight Hour Day Procession in Bowral, N.S.W. - 1908, Kaye |
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| 'Craigiebourne' at Bowral, N.S.W. - 1910s, Kaye |
Corbett Gardens which would become famous for the Tulip Time Festival began in 1911. Mrs Ada Corbett suggested that, the local tourist association purchase Deadmans Paddock for a public park.
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| School of Arts, Bowral NSW circa 1900-1910. The building was opened in 1885, with a second storey added in 1913. |
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LIEUTENANT OXLEY. Among the list of officers selected for the Imperial Bushmen's Contingent appears the name of Mr John Evelyn Oxley, of Foster's Valley, who has been given a commission as First Lieutenant. Mr. Oxley was born at Wingecarribbee, Bowral, and is a son of the late Mr. H. M. Oxley, M. P. for the Camden district, and grandson of Lieutenant John Oxley, a noted explorer in the early days. And just here it might be mentioned that in the one squadron ap pear the names of the sons of those whose past is identified with the history of the colony, viz., Oxley, son of first Governor, surveyor, and explorer, King, a descendant of Governor King, and Wentworth, a son of William Charles Wentworth. Lieutenant Oxley was educated at the Sydney Grammar School, and on leaving entered the Commercial Bank at Sydney. He only remained four years with the bank and then entered upon pastoral pursuits. He journeyed to Queensland and there gained much experience in bush life Lieutenant Oxley gained his military experience at Bowral, where he was for some time a member of the West Camden Light Horse. National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW : 1889 - 1954), Friday 20 April 1900 |
Anthony Hordern created Milton Park in 1910, with a Federation Arts and Crafts mansion. (famous family of retailers)
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| Bong Bong St, Bowral, NSW, 1910, BDHS |
WWI (1914-1918) |
| The State Governor opening additions at teh Bowral Hospital, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 1 February 1911 |
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| Eight Hour Day in Bowral, N.S.W. - 1914, Kaye |
The Empire Theatre opened in 1915.
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| Family in Bowral, New South Wales - circa 1915, Kaye |
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| PTE. GREAR (Bowral),Killed in action.Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 26 June 1915 |
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| Robertson Advocate (NSW : 1894 - 1923), Tuesday 5 September 1916 |
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| Robertson Advocate (NSW : 1894 - 1923), Tuesday 5 September 1916 |
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| FOUR OF ONE FAMILY. THE JONES BROTHERS, WHO WERE THE FIRST TO ENLIST FOR ACTIVE SERVICE' FROM BOWRAL THEY ARE THE SONS OF A WIDOW, MRS. J. JONES, BOOLWEY STREET, BOWRAL, WHO FREELY GAVE THE LADS HER CONSENT, SO THAT THEY MIGHT DO SOMETHING FOR THE EMPIRE. READING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:— EDWARD JONES, MYLES JONES, JACK JONES (KILLED IN ACTION), AND CHARLES JONES, WHO WAS TWICE WOUNDED. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Saturday 11 November 1916, |
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| WW1 recruitment march from Tocumwal to Camden, N.S.W. - 1918 - in the streets of Bowral, Kaye |
1920s
Bowral Bricks began production in 1922.
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| Bong Bong Races at Bowral, NSW, (The Bong Bong Picnic Races, commenced in 1886) The Home : an Australian quarterly. Vol. 4 No. 1 (1 March 1923) |
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Bong Bong Races at Bowral, NSW,Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 21 January 1925,
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| Retford Hall was built in 1887 by the Hordern family and redesigned by the Fairfax family n the 1960s, Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930), Sunday 19 February 1922 |
Mary Ann Springett opened a mixed food business in Bowral’s main street in 1926.
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Tuesday 23 November 1926 |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Tuesday 23 November 1926 |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Tuesday 23 November 1926 |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Tuesday 23 November 1926 |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Tuesday 23 November 1926 |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Tuesday 23 November 1926 |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Tuesday 23 November 1926 |
In 1928–30, Bowral High School was built.
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| BOWRAL'S SECOND ANNUAL HORSE SHOW, NSW, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Saturday 24 March 1928 |
1930s
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| "THE BOWRAL BOY. "Don Bradman, the young New South Wales batsman who has amazed the cricketing world. /.Queenslander Illustrated Weekly (Brisbane, Qld. : 1927 - 1939), Thursday 24 July 1930 |
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| EARLY BOWRAL DAYS. As a number of the Cootamundra district pioneers came from about Camden and Bowral and Moss Vale, the following, from the 'Bowral Mail,' may be of interest to them and their relatives.Mr. Charles Willis was born at Camden in 1856, and came to Bowral with his father When about eight years old. To him we are: Indebted: for the fol-lowing particulars of the early days of Bowral: My father came to Bowral to make bricks for Mr W. Charker. The first bricks were made there. I had about 12 months schooling, then started to Work in the brickyard with my father, also two brothers, near the Gib tunnel, making bricks for bricking the railway tunnel. There were only about six houses then— two stores, one hotel, one butcher's shop, one; blacksmith's shop, and one wheelwright's shop. Mr. Har rison had the store and blacksmith's shop; Mr. Folkcs had the hotel , and store on land wliere the Presbyterian Church is now built; Mr. Charker had the butcher's shop, also an hotel after my father -had made the bricks. Har rison's store and blacksmith's . shop was on Boardman's corner. Mr. Robinson's wheelwright shop was near where Sommers Is now. We had no churches for some time. Cootamundra Herald (NSW : 1877 - 1954), Friday 31 July 1936 |
A Baptist church was built on Merrigang Street in 1937, also designed by Edmund Blacket.
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| The fine conventual group of buildings at Bowral belonging to the Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Here are a Novitiate, Convent, and College in ideal country surroundings. Catholic Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1932 - 1942), Thursday 23 December 1937 |
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| Goulburn Evening Penny Post (NSW : 1881 - 1940), Thursday 4 November 1937 (The Great Depression in Australia began in 1929 following the Wall Street crash and led to severe economic hardship, with unemployment peaking at around 32% in 1932. Recovery took nearly a decade) |
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| New tourists road of the Bowral area, NSW, Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Sunday 11 December 1938 |
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| Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 6 February 1939, |
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| Southern Mail (Bowral, NSW : 1889 - 1954), Tuesday 14 February 1939 (The Empire Theatre has been open since 1915) |
1940s and WWII (1939-1945)
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| Pilot-Officer P. R. F. HUGHES, Bowral, killed inair- operations.Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Friday 9 October 1942 |
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| Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 20 July 1942 |
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Bowral Convalescent Home. .'Berida,' the first Convalescent Home for -service women'in Australia, was a gift to Bed Cross toy Dr. Jessie Freeman. A large addition, named the -|Schofield Wing' in
memory of the late Professor / J. A. Schofield: of Sydney University, was made possible by a' gift, of £5,900 from Mrs. Schofield. It was ofiicially opened by Lady Wakeliurst early this month. ' : . Tlie Home _ has been ' tastefully decorated by friends Red Cross .Convalescent Home Auxiliary/ with funds raised locally. Its three acres of lovely grounds make' it eminently suitable for convalescing patients, and its location' is ideal. Matron. Davis, In charge, is a returned Army sister of the last war.
- A happy group of convalescent girls of the Auxiliary Services at the opening of 'Berida, Convalescent Home' Western Herald (Bourke, NSW : 1887 - 1893; 1895 - 1903; 1906 - 1914; 1916 -1980), Friday 15 January 1943 |
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| ROCKET FIRING BEAUFIGHTER. Australians are now flying RAAF Beaufighters equipped with rocket projectors in the war against the Japanese. The fitting of rockets to these aircraft, ordinarily one of the most powerfully armed planes in the world, makes them on even greater menace to Japanese, shipping. In this picture, LAC N. R. Hewitt, of Subiaco, WA, and LAC R. Nicholls, of Bowral, NSW, see that therockets are fitted snugly into projectors under the wing of a Beaufighter.Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Wednesday 22 November 1944, |
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| TheBoy From Bowral Has Left Mis Mark On Cricket. Evening Advocate (Innisfail, Qld. : 1941 - 1954), Thursday 2 January 1947, |
'The main street was the highway until about fifteen years ago, when a new road, the Hume Highway, by-passed it some five miles away, going by Berrima, and leaving Bowral safe from cars tearing through.'Walkabout. Vol. 15 No. 3 (1 March 1949)
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| Riding schools, Bowral, NSW, Walkabout. Vol. 15 No. 3 (1 March 1949) |
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| The cottage Tea Room, Bowral, NSW, Walkabout. Vol. 15 No. 3 (1 March 1949) |
1950s
The Bowral & District Art Society was
established in 1950.
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| Bong Bong Street, Bowral, N.S.W. - 1950s perhaps, Kaye |
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| 'Arrankamp' at Bowral, N.S.W. - circa 1950s, Kaye |
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| Bowral, NSW, 1950s |
1960s
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| At Vung Tao, South Vietnam are Leading Aircraftman (LAC) P Egan of Townsville, Qld and LAC W Huber of Bowral, NSW. 1966. AWM |
2020s
In 2016, this 1959 building was remodelled into the the attractive style below.
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| In 2016, this 1959 building was remodelled into the the attractive style below. Bowral, NSW |
Bowral's Milk Factory, built in 1921 became an art gallery.
Around Bowral
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| From 1857- 1858, John Oxley's sons, John Norton Oxley and Henry Molesworth Oxley built "Wingecarribbee" homestead on the side of Oxley Hill overlooking Bowral, NSW |
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| The Empire Theatre, Bowral, NSW, opened 1915 |
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| Anthony Hordern created Milton Park, near Bowral, NSW, in 1910, with a Federation Arts and Crafts mansion. |
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| The Rift homestead was built by Alfred & Wilhelmina Leathes between 1890-1895, Bowral, NSW |
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| The Bowral Hotel, Bowral, NSW, built 1936 after The Commercial Hotel was demolished |
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| Bowral, NSW |
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| Bowral, NSW |
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| The former Grand Hotel, Bowral, NSW, built in 1888 |
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| Bowral, NSW |
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| Bowral High School, NSW, Established in 1930 as a tribute to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps of World War I |
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| Antique shop, Bowral, NSW, (The ivy-covered building previously known as Lancelot Hill Antiques which was established in 1964 ) |
Things To Do and Places To Go
Burradoo Park Farm is a 600-acre regenerative property just outside Bowral, and home to three distinct Three Blue Ducks venues — The Bakehouse, The Farmhouse cafe & store
Outside Bundanoon, Nungungnungulla is a sacred place and cultural landmark to the Gundungurra people. Here
THE BOWRAL LAWN TENNIS COURTS. NSWSydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser
