Batlow, New South Wales: Travel guide and things to do

Located 443km south west of Sydney and 725m above sea level, Batlow is set in the beautiful low-lying mountains of the New South Wales south-west slopes. The town is surrounded by orchards and in recent years it has become famous as one of Australia's premier producers of apples, pears, cherries, numerous varieties of berries and stone fruits.

Prior to European settlement the Wiradjuri Aborigines lived in the area. The first Europeans to pass through the district were Hamilton Hume and William Hovell in 1824 on their journey to Port Phillip Bay. A few years later, in the early 1830s, Thomas Boyd settled at Windowie, a property north of the town.

The discovery of gold in the early 1850s at Adelong and in the Batlow Valley led to the establishment of a small settlement at Reedy Creek in 1854. The town was named after a Mr. Batlow, the surveyor who laid out the town's street plan. The primary function of the settlement was to service the surrounding gold mining area. Out of this settlement grew the town of Batlow.

The gold mining era was short lived and by 1855 the first orchards had been planted. The town became a service centre with fruit trees being planted on the surrounding hills and in the surrounding valleys. By 1880 a timber mill had opened and by 1900 more than 5 000 trees both for orchards and for timber milling had been planted in the district. This process of expansion continued until 1915. The town was officially proclaimed in 1910.

Major growth occurred in the town in 1923 with the arrival of the railway (a branch line from Tumut) and the establishment of the state's first cool stores. Four years later, in 1927, the town's co-operative packing sheds and cool stores were opened. It was known as the Batlow Packing House and Cool Stores Co-operative. This organisation was formed by district growers and can be seen as the beginning of a process which continues today in the Batlow Fruit Co-op.

The area continued to prosper through the 1930s with the introduction of cider manufacturing. After the outbreak of World War II the Batlow Packing Company provided both U.S. and Australian forces with dehydrated fruit and vegetable. By the 1950s the town had become a major centre for both the soft wood plantations and the orchards and some farmers were experimenting with asparagus and sweet corn. Today Batlow is at the centre of the most important apple growing area in New South Wales. It is surrounded by more than 350 000 apple trees and it's packing and processing plants are the town's main employers.

Things to see

Springfield Orchard and Tourist Information
Tourist Information can be had from the Springfield Orchard which is located on the Tumut Road about 1km out of Batlow. Springfield Orchard also has picnic and barbecue facilities and sells most of the fruits available in the area. It is open seven days a week. For more details contact (02) 6949 1021.

Batlow Fruit Co-operative Limited
Located on Forest Road south of the town centre. The Batlow Fruit Co-operative Limited is the largest computer controlled fruit grading, packing and storage complex in Australia. Visitors are welcome and fruit is available for sale. Tours can be arranged. For more details contact (02) 6949 1021.