Numbered items on the map are detailed in the scrollable section beneath.
Use this space to scroll the page as the map and info below have their own internal scroll.
Use this space to scroll the page as the map and info below have their own internal scroll.
1. All Saints’ Cathedral – 1849, 1852, 1971 and 2009
Architects:
- Edmund Blacket – 1849
- McPherson, Harrison & Hassall – 1971 octagonal section
- Bialowas & Associates – 2009 Bell Tower.
This building sits on the site first nominated for a church in 1833. The original church was constructed in 1849 with the first bell tower built in1852. The present modern section of the building, which was based on Coventry Cathedral completed in 1971, replaced the older ‘western’ end which was demolished due to structural issues. The new bell tower was added in 2009. The acoustic qualities of the church are world renowned. A unique feature of the bell tower is that it is only one, of two locations in the world, where two bell towers are located opposite one another.
2. Walshaw Hall Complex – 1860s and 1923
Dates of construction varied with the oldest portions dating back to the 1860s. The building closest to Church Street dates from 1923 and was built with funds donated by Mrs. Mabel Walshaw, of Yetholme, in memory of her husband. In the wing just behind the Walshaw Hall, the Soldiers Memorial Hall pre-dates the building that abuts Church Street. The portion of the complex located on the corner of Ribbon Gang Lane was built a few years after the Walshaw Hall. The building that lies behind these three was once The Anglican School and dates back to the mid-19th Century. This is now used as a restaurant whilst still located on Church lands.
3. The former TAFE BUILDING – 1898
Architect: William Kemp
In 1894 this was a vacant ‘idle’ block of land next to the School of Arts. Designed in the Romanesque Revival style it is comprised of two buildings each of two storeys. The terracotta tiles are a significant feature, and the building is similar in design to Kemp’s TAFE building of the same era in Ultimo, Sydney. The foundation stone was laid during the People’s Convention of 1899. Chemistry rooms, offices and a technical museum were located on the ground floor, with a large lecture hall, 4 classrooms, 2 carpenters’ shops and caretaker’s quarters on the floor above. The cookery school and plumbers’ shop were located at the rear, separated by a lane.
The building is National Trust Heritage listed.
4. 99 William Street – The Bathurst Times Office – 1891
Architect: James Hine
The building was constructed as the headquarters of The Bathurst Times. In that era, newspapers were the only way to hear of local news of a region, the rest of the country and of the world. Later it was used as the former School of Arts Library, where the original stained glass windows by William Montgomery (1850-1927) visible on the first floor, can still be seen when viewed from across the road from outside Porter’s Café in William Street.
Apart from changes below the awning, the façade has remained unaltered, except for slight changes to the colour scheme of some non-face brick elements. The ground floor is currently occupied by a bank.
5. 83 William Street (corner of William and Howick Streets) – 1861
Architect: M. Henry Sadlier .This was the site of the School of Arts/Mechanics Institute complex. The School of Arts was built initially on the corner of Howick and William Streets in 1861. It was extended into Howick Street around 1930 to accommodate a cinema. Formerly part of the TAFE site it was demolished in the late 1960s and is currently a car park.
6. Headmaster’s Residence – 1878
Architect: G. A. Mansfield
The present building was constructed as the headmaster’s residence adjacent to the Bathurst Public School. When the School closed it was used by the Western Institute of TAFE for a period of time before they relocated to their present site at Mount Panorama. It was at this time that the first floor was removed for safety reasons – this has undermined the structural integrity of the building, and it remains vacant.
7. The Australian Fossil & Mineral Museum – 1876
Architect: G.A. Mansfield
Constructed as the Bathurst Public School, it was built on this site as a compromise to stop the bickering over what the site should be used for. The lack of a substantial playground meant that the School was moved to its present site in upper George Street in the late 1930s. After the School relocated, these premises were used as a canteen for World War II soldiers in 1940. Despite its relatively short use as a school it still remains amongst the finest of the Gothic School buildings of its period.
8. Bathurst Presbyterian Church (formerly known as St Stephen’s) – 1872 and 1908
Architects: Thomas Rowe, (Church); J.J. Copeman, (Church Hall)
The Church was completed and opened for worship in September 1872, with the Church Hall built later in 1908 and extended in 1929. The Bathurst Presbyterian Church is now the oldest continuously used Presbyterian Church building in Australia. It is not known how the bell in the bell tower came to be placed there, or where it came from, as it is dated 1820.
9. King’s Parade – 1910
King’s Parade occupies the site of the very large 1869 Market Building which was used for fruit and poultry markets, rallies, political debates and auctions. It was demolished in 1909 and reserved as a formal public park and named King’s Parade in 1910 in memory of King Edward VII who died earlier that year.
It is the site of many civic and ceremonial events to the present day and occupies one third of the Town Square. Famous visitors included Lord Kitchener in 1910, Edward, Prince of Wales in 1920, and Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1954.
10. The Bathurst Court House – 1880
Architect: Edward Rumsey from the office of James Barnett, Colonial Architect) Builder; David Jones (main building), Joseph Mills (wings)
This building is not the first Court House to be constructed on this site. The previous Court House, built 1837 in the current forecourt space, allowed construction of the current building around it. The wings, built after demolition of the earlier building, were used initially for the The Post & Telegraph Offices. Now the Bathurst District Historical Society is housed in the left wing and the Mitchell Conservatorium of Music in the right wing.
11. Bathurst Regional Council Chambers and offices – 1957-58
Architect: Trevor Jones & Associates
Originally the site of the Bathurst Town Hall there are now two separate buildings occupying this site which have been extensively modified internally to create a unified office complex. The two storey building facing William Street was originally the Library and Art Gallery, now located in Keppel Street. The City’s first bowling greens were originally located adjacent to the earlier Town Hall.
12. The Knickerbocker Hotel – 1939-40
Architect: R.B. Fitzgerald
This classic Functionalist & Art Deco building using distinctive glass bricks and curved facade, was built for George Gunther and his sister Jennie Nicholas whose family owned the existing Grand Hotel on the corner of Russell and William Streets, as well as the neighbouring Royal Hotel. On the 6th November 1948, Prime Minister Ben Chifley presided over a meeting of Federal and State Cabinet Ministers in the Knickerbocker Lounge to consider possible action to be taken against striking coal miners. The miners were ordered to return to work by the Labor Government of the day.
13. The Royal Hotel – 1843
Architect: not known. Later filigree detail – J.J. Copeman
The Royal Hotel started life as a single storey building known as The Good Woman Inn. The building has been enlarged to three floors all with verandahs and iron lacework and is a fine example of Victorian filigree detailing. It has always been used as an hotel. The Royal has been patronised by a number of famous people over the years, including State Governors, numerous politicians and famous celebrities. Its balconies were favoured for making speeches and its rooms for conducting meetings. Some of the largest crowds seen in Bathurst have congregated in front of, or on the balconies of this hotel (see images in the website’s Gallery)
The building is National Trust Heritage listed.
14. Westpac Bank Building – 1894
Architect: James Hine
Constructed for The City Bank, it is not the original building on this site. The earlier building, demolished in 1890, was a single storey iron-roofed building which housed an inn built in 1837. It was here that Edward Hammond Hargraves announced the discovery of payable gold in the district resulting in the gold rush of the 1850s and 1860s.
15. Porters Café & Eve’s Dress shop – 74 William Street – c1877
Architect: William Dryden – (further additions made in 1919)
The building as it stands today was restored in 2002, returning it to its original appearance when the property was owned by T.W. William. Before 1877 the building consisted of a single storey with a posted verandah and had been used as a gun shop which was visited by the bushranger, Ben Hall, and his gang in 1863. The present shopfronts were designed and installed in 1930 by H & E Sidgreaves of Redfern who also made the lead lighting still visible at 100 William Street.
16. Row of Victorian Terraces, 167-165 Howick Street – 1874
Architect: Thomas Rowe Builder: James Douglas & Scott.
This terrace was designed and constructed as a set of seven individual shops with dwellings above. The architect, Thomas Rowe, also designed a neighbouring block at 177 Howick Street. The set of thirteen unified Victorian styled units would have presented a very impressive face to Howick Street. The gap in the terraces was created by the demolition of a shop in 1962 by an electrical goods retailer. These buildings have always been used as retail shops.
17. Jack Duggan’s Pub – 1849
Architect – not known
This building has always been used as a hostelry. When first built it was called the Daniel O’Connell Inn but this was changed to the Commercial Hotel in 1859. For a time it was owned by Dr Machattie. A wrought iron filigreed verandah with a hipped roof was added to the second floor around 1925, but later removed during the 1950s. The verandah we see today was added in 1993 and has a bullnose roof rather than the original hipped roof. It is still formally registered as the Commercial Hotel but known as Jack Duggan’s Pub.
18. Machattie Park – 1891
Machattie Park is one of the most important visual amenities of the City of Bathurst. Its history, layout, landscaping and flora are charged with cultural significance. The Park occupies the site of the original Bathurst Gaol, and the Martin Griffin Gates have important associations with the early Durham Street Police Barracks and the former Mayor of Bathurst
19. The Evans Memorial – unveiled November 1920
Architect: W. Dryden Sculptor: Gilbert Doble
Designed as a Centennial Memorial to the Surveyor and Explorer George Evans, who was the first European to cross the Great Dividing Range leading to the discovery of the Bathurst Plains in 1813.The commemorative sculpture was unveiled by the Governor, Sir Walter Davidson, on 29th November 1920..
20. The Bathurst War Memorial Carillon – 1933
Designed by: John Drummond Moore
After years of planning and considerable fund raising by the citizens and school children of the Bathurst district during the Depression, construction started in 1928. Some 212,000 locally made bricks were used to build the tower, with each brick sold for twopence to fund the memorial. On Armistice Day, 11th November 1933, a crowd estimated at 15,000 attended the official opening performed by the Mayor, Alderman Martin Griffin.
The 35 bells in the tower were purchased from John Taylor & Co, Loughborough, England. Inscriptions on the bells honour the men and nurses of the 1914-18 War and the many villages in the region from which they came.
21. The South African Boer War Memorial – 1909 Foundation Stone laid, opened 1910
Architect: John Copeman Sculptor: Gilbert Doble
The monument costing £800 was unveiled by Lord Kitchener in 1910. On the memorial you will find the name of the Australian, Peter Handcock, who was Court Martialled and executed with Harry ‘Breaker’ Morant during the South African Boer War 1899-1902.