Goulburn - Places to See

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 15 years ago

Goulburn - Places to See


Tourist Information
The Goulburn Visitors Information Centre is located at 201 Sloane St, tel: (02) 4823 4492. Brochures are available outlining the Heritage Walking Tour (guided tours are available for groups). There is also material relating to the Wollondilly Walking Trail (which follows the river for 20 km), the Grafton Street Walk, the Governor Macquarie Walking Trails (focusing on Mulwaree Ponds) and the Goulburn District Driving Tours. The latter outlines drives around town, to Wombeyan Caves and to Canberra. Enquiries can also be made here about the Open Garden Scheme.

The Visitors' Centre is located in the old technical school building (1886-87) which is behind the former mechanics' institute (1881).

Post Office and Town Hall
Around the corner in Auburn St is the imposing Italianate post office with its large clock tower and colonnades. It was designed by James Barnet and built of stuccoed-brick in 1880-81. The adjacent town hall building (now the McDermott Centre) is a Classical Revival red-brick structure with a small curved iron-lace balcony and Dutch gable, built in 1887-88 and used by the council until 1990.

St Peter and St Paul's Catholic Cathedral
Turn right into Verner St. At the top of the hill is St Peter and St Paul's Roman Catholic Cathedral (1871-89), a Gothic Revival structure built of Greenstone with sandstone tracery, slender moulded columns, a marble sanctuary and an 1890 organ. It was erected around the original church (1843) which was then demolished and taken out through the doors.

Tech College and Baptist Church
Diagonally opposite is the former Technical College (1901), once the high school and now the TAFE School of Music. Slightly further along, at Bourke and Church, is the Baptist Church, built as a Presbyterian Church in 1887.

St Saviour's Anglican Cathedral
The Baptist Church suffers just a tad from standing opposite St Saviour's Anglican Cathedral (1874-84), an outstanding and elegant Gothic construction in white sandstone. It was designed by noted colonial architect Edmund Blacket who considered it one of his best works.

Highlights include the rich interior with its stained-glass windows, chapels, wood and stone carvings, intricate window traceries, font, hammer-beam roof, luxurious and ornate sanctuary, the remarkable bishop's throne, the pulpit with its alabaster columns, the bas-relief copy of Leonardo's Last Supper above the altar, and the magnificent organ which features 2252 pipes. The life of Jesus is told in stone and glass around the cathedral. The tower and bells were added in 1988. The hall, also designed by Blacket, served as a temporary church in 1874. Guided tours are available from 1.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. on Sundays and from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. every other day. It is located in Bourke St, tel: (02) 4821 2206.

Goulburn Regional Art Gallery
Adjacent the cathedral is the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery which is open from 10.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday and on Saturdays and public holidays from 1.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m., or by appointment, tel: (02) 4823 0443.

Montague St and Fibre Design
Cross the road and walk along Montague St which features some lovely homes and gardens and a variety of architectural styles. To the left are the Art-Deco Elmslea Chambers and, at no.11, the old fire station (1890) with its fine rendered facade and bell tower on cast-iron columns.

Advertisement

At 9 Montague St is Fibre Design, located in a 1902 structure. There is a gallery of textile works along with a range of handmade products (hand painted silk, ceramics, glass, jewellery, woven clothing, felted hats and jackets) along with supplies for fibre work and handspun wool. It is open daily, tel: (02) 4822 1333.

5-7 Montague St is of interest and over the road is an elaborate Italianate building erected in 1887 as a country-town emporium.

Churches and School
Turn left into Auburn St then left into Clifford St, passing St Andrew's Presbyterian Church (1924-25). Turn right into Bourke St and on your left is the primary school. It was established in 1858 as a private enterprise and became the town's first public school in 1868.

Turn right into Goldsmith St and to the left is the Gothic-style Uniting Church (1870-71).

Grafton St
Turn left into Auburn St, right into Bradley and left into Grafton St. A short distance along, to the right, is the Coach & Horses Inn, built in 1840. Grafton St was originally the main highway from Sydney and hence had 11 hotels at its peak. Its width was to permit bullock drays and horse carts to turn around. Almost all of the buildings in Grafton St date from the Georgian and Victorian eras. They are outlined in the Grafton Street Walk brochure.

Reynolds St
Reynolds St veers off to the left. Note the Sisters of St Joseph Convent (1883) and the Southern Star Inn (1860).

St Clair
Return along Grafton St, cross Bradley St and proceed along Sloane St. To the right, at no.318, is an early 18-room colonial townhouse known as 'St Clair' (1845). It features the original cedar panelling and stringybark floors and a verandah with fluted sandstone columns capped by a Classical stone entablature. The building is now home to the local historical society which displays museum items and conducts family research on weekends from 1.00 p.m. to 4.00 pm., tel: (02) 4821 1156.

Sloane St
On the same side of the road, by the Goldsmith St corner, is a former hotel, built in 1858 and now home to R.J. Sidney Craig undertakers who set up shop in Goulburn in 1837, making them the longest-established undertakers in NSW.

At Sloane and Clifford is the police station. The building to the right of the main entry path was built as a hospital and remained so until 1889.

Continue along Sloane St. Just past Verner St a short side road leads down to the Classical Revival railway station (1869). The stationmaster's residence (1869) has steep gables and a charming fretwork porch.

Return to Sloane St. On the far side of the road is the Coolavin Hotel which started out as a bank in the late 1850s. It retains its lengthy balcony and verandah supported on cast-iron columns with unusual dragon-patterned ironwork valance.

Further along the road is the Mulwaree Hotel which dates back to 1845. In between are Victorian two-storey terraces of stuccoed brick. No.182 retains its shopfront and adjacent carriageway.

Return along Sloane St. To the left, between Verner and Montague Sts, is a former coffee palace (an alcohol-free accommodation zone), built in 1880. It is now the Alpine Motor Lodge.

Courthouse Group
Adjacent the motor lodge are the former police station and the town's second courthouse (to the right). The latter was built of stuccoed brick and stone in 1849. The two-storey police station was designed by James Barnet and built in 1888.

Turn the corner into Montague St and to the left, near the visitors' centre, is the town's third courthouse (1887), a far grander Classical Revival polychrome brick structure which reflects the town's importance in the late 19th century. It was designed by James Barnet and features a copper dome, colonnaded facade and richly decorated interior. It is surrounded by attractive gardens and enclosed by an iron pike fence. The keystone over the central arch depicts Queen Victoria. To the rear is the old morgue (1880).

Belmore Park
Over the road is Belmore Park which is luxuriant, formal and English in style. It is located on the site of the original market place and was named Belmore Square in 1869 when Lord Belmore opened the railway and Lady Belmore planted the oak at the centre of the park which boasts a band rotunda (1897), numerous civic monuments and shady picnic areas. The Classical stone archway opposite the park, in Market St, was built in 1847 as the gateway to the Bull and Woodward Stores.

Victoria Park
Adjacent Faithfull St is Victoria Park noted for its large rose garden which has 1500 bushes.

Riversdale
'Riversdale', at the end of Maud St, is a single-storey colonial Georgian cottage built of sandstock brick in 1840 as a coaching inn and residence. Road diversions in the 1850s ruined the custom and so it became a school and then a residence. Set amidst fine gardens with views over the plains it is furnished in period style as both residence and inn. Features include stone-flagged enclosed verandahs with carved-timber supports, a courtyard, a fine entrance hall, timber floors and cedar joinery. The outbuildings include a stone barn which is much older than the house. It is the only surviving building from the original townsite which operated from 1828 until Governor Bourke relocated the settlement in 1832.

The National Trust is currently pondering its plans for 'Riversdale' and so, for the time being, it is currently open strictly by appointment and only to groups, tel: (02) 4821 4741.

Note that Citizen St and Hurst St, in one of Goulburn's oldest areas, contain some fine private homes.

The Old Goulburn Brewery
The Old Goulburn Brewery is the oldest working industrial complex in the country. The three-storey flour mill was built in 1836, the castellated brewing tower and malt houses in 1840. There are also stables and a brewer's cottage. It is thought that convict-architect Francis Greenway may have been the designer. A two-storey wing was added c.1900. Today it offers ale made on the premises, accommodation, a restaurant and a function centre. There are guided tours of the complex which retains much of the original equipment. It is open daily from 11.00 a.m. on Bungonia Rd, tel: (02) 4821 6071.

Rocky Hill War Memorial
Rocky Hill War Memorial, a stocky 20-m tower in Memorial Drive, was built by public subscription in 1923 to honour locals who fought and died in World War I. It is floodlit at night by a rotating beacon and can be seen from any approach to the city. Rocky Hill itself is a good vantage point offering views over the city. The lookout is open from dawn until dusk daily and the war memorial display is open weekends and public holidays from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. and from 1.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m., tel: (02) 4823 0492.

The Big Merino
An obvious 'attraction' is 'The Big Merino', a replica sheep 15 m high and 21 m long beside Hume St on the Canberra side of town. It is the focal point of a complex which showcases the area's wool industry with sales of crafts and other produce made from wool.There are also souvenirs, a display on the production of wool, a lookout area over Goulburn, a restaurant and a tavern, tel: (02) 4821 8800.

Garroorigang
'Garroorigang' is an interesting Victorian house which was built of stuccoed brick and rubble in 1857. Originally an inn, it became a boys' school in 1868 and a residence in the 1880s. The Victorian drawing room has remained unaltered since 1868 and the schoolroom can still be seen. It is located in Braidwood Rd at the southern end of town. Tours, dinners and bed-and-breakfast are available, tel: (02) 4822 1912.

The Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre
The Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre houses a heritage workshop and the roundhouse that was opened in 1918. It is open weekdays from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and Saturdays from 1.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. It is located in Braidwood Rd, tel: (02) 4822 1210.

Wakefield Park
11 km south on the Braidwood Rd is Wakefield Park Motor Racing Circuit, tel: (02) 4822 2811.

South Hill Homestead
South Hill Homestead and 19th-Century School is a Victorian farm mansion with period farm buildings and a school. Young visitors can dress up in period costume and play the part of 19th-century schoolchildren. There are tours of the buildings and bed-and-breakfast facilities. It is located in Garroorigang Rd, tel: (02) 4821 9591.

Pejar Dam
Pejar Dam, on the Wollondilly River, covers 160 ha. It is a fine trout-fishing spot where canoeing, sailing, wind surfing, rowing and picnicking can all be enjoyed. No power boats are permitted. It is located 26 km north of Goulburn on the Crookwell Rd.

Towrang
Towrang, 15 km north-east, was the site of a major stockade for a chain-gang of convicts and others involved in the construction of the Great South Rd from 1836 to 1842. The stockade became the principal penal establishment in the southern district. There were usually at least 250 convicts hutted here. They slept on bare boards with a blanket apiece, 10 men to a box or cell. One of the two official floggers was later found murdered. A few artefacts remain from this period, such as some convict graves, a powder magazine, the convict-built Towrang bridge and numerous culverts charted on an information billboard at the Towrang rest area.

Bungonia State Recreation Area
Bungonia State Recreation Area is a popular bushwalking area with limestone caves and spectacular lookouts over Bungonia Gorge. For more information see entry on Marulan.

Goulburn Steam Museum
The Goulburn Steam Museum is located at Marsden Weir, on a bend in the Wollondilly River in Fitzroy St. It features items of industrial steam machinery housed in handsome brick buildings, including an Appleby Beam Engine which worked the pumps for the town's water supply from 1883 to 1918. There is also a track-mounted self-propelled steam crane from the Goulburn railway station, a narrow gauge railway, picnic facilities and other amenities in a 10-ha setting. It is closed for renovations until mid-1999.


Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter

Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading