History of Bowral facts for kids
Bowral is a lovely town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It has a rich history that goes back almost 200 years!
Contents
Early Times: Before Europeans Arrived
Long ago, the land around Bowral was home to the Tharawal Aboriginal Tribe. However, they didn't set up permanent homes here because the weather could be very extreme. The name Bowral is thought to come from the Aboriginal word "Bowrel," which means "High."
European Explorers and First Settlements: 1780s - 1830s
The Bowral area was first explored in 1798 by a former convict named John Wilson and his team. They were sent by Governor Hunter to explore south of the new colony of Sydney.
After Wilson, other explorers like John Warby, botanist George Caley, the Hume brothers, and famous pioneers John Oxley and Charles Throsby also explored the area.
In 1817, Governor Lachlan Macquarie gave land to Charles Throsby. Throsby started a small town called Bong Bong, which is about 7 kilometers north of Bowral today. He also built Old South Road, connecting Sydney to Goulburn and the southern plains.
Governor Macquarie also gave 2,400 acres (about 9.7 square kilometers) to John Oxley. This land later became Bowral. John Oxley never lived there, but he sent his sons to start sheep and cattle farms. Oxley's sons named the area "Wingecarribee," which is still the name of the local government area today.
In 1831, a Sydney businessman named Edward Riley received 3,000 acres (about 12 square kilometers) in what is now East Bowral. He later passed it on to his son, George.
Growing into a Village: 1840s - 1850s
Between 1857 and 1858, John Oxley's sons, John Norton Oxley and Henry Molesworth Oxley, built the famous "Wingecarribbee" homestead. This homestead is still standing today! It was even used for Church of England services for the Wingecarribee (Bowral) village. Henry later sold his share of the land to his brother John.
John then divided 200 acres (about 0.81 square kilometers) of land because he knew a railway was coming through the area. When the railway arrived in 1867, it helped Bowral grow from a private village into a busy town. Henry also divided land for farming, which helped Bowral's economy grow.
In 1859, John Oxley promised to donate land for a church, a rectory (a house for the priest), and a glebe (land to help support the church).
Becoming a Town with the Railway: 1860s - 2020s
From the mid to late 1800s (1860s - 1890s), Bowral grew very quickly. By the end of the 1890s, it had a bakery, a blacksmith, a newsagency, a general store, hotels, and a post office. Many new people moved to Bowral because of the railway line being built from Sydney to Melbourne.
Churches and Schools
In 1863, an Anglican stone church was built. It also served as a school and was located near where the Bradman Museum is today. When it opened, 100 students, mostly children of railway workers, attended.
In 1864, Wesleyans (also known as Methodists) built a chapel on Bendooley Street.
In 1874, a new Anglican church, St. Simon and St. Jude, replaced the first one. It was designed by a famous architect named Edmund Blacket.
An Anglican rectory (priest's house) was built near the church in 1879.
In 1881, the Methodist chapel was replaced with a new church.
The church of St. Simon and St. Jude was rebuilt again in 1887 because it was too small for the growing population. Today, only Blacket's belltower from that church remains.
During the 1880s, a school and hall were added to the Anglican church's land. However, because of a new law called the Public Education Act by Henry Parkes, the school became a state-run school. It is still the local primary school across the road from the church today.
In 1883, the Salvation Army held a famous event in Bowral, preaching and parading on Bong Bong Street.
The first Catholic Church in Bowral was built in 1891 on Banyette Street. Bowral was mostly a "Protestant" town, unlike nearby towns like Moss Vale and Mittagong, which had many Catholic residents.
In 1926, the Methodist church was rebuilt as part of the new Uniting Church in Australia.
A Baptist church was built on Merrigang Street in 1937, also designed by Edmund Blacket.
In 1983, a Christian school started with only 7 students in the back hall of Bowral Baptist Church. Later, land was bought in East Bowral for new classrooms. This school, now called Southern Highlands Christian School, teaches both primary and secondary students.
The original Catholic church on Banyette Street was sold to the Evangelical Church in 1986. A new Catholic church was built next to St. Thomas Aquinas School and the presbytery in the same year.
Hotels
Bowral's first hotel, the "Wingecarribee Inn," was built in 1862. It was located where the Royal Hotel is today, at the corner of Merrigang Street and Bong Bong Street. The second hotel, "The Grand Hotel & Motel," was built in 1887 and had 35 rooms. Part of the original Grand Hotel building is still there, but only a small part is used as a hotel. It was sold in 2014 after 126 years!
Town Growth and the Railway
As the railway line was being built from Mittagong to Moss Vale in the late 1860s and 1870s, new settlers asked for a train station in Bowral. These requests, along with more trade, farming, and businesses, led to the building of Bowral Station, which opened in 1886. The current Bowral station is in the same spot as the original. The station was first called "Burradoo," then "Bowrall," and finally "Bowral" at the turn of the century. (For more information, see Bowral Railway Station)
In 1876, milk was shipped from Bowral Station. In the 1880s, because of the railway shipping goods to Sydney and Goulburn, a tannery (a place that makes leather) was also built. The tannery was located where the Commonwealth Bank stands today.
Before the Grand Hotel was built, the first School of Arts was on that site. The building was moved to its current spot on Bendooley Street in 1884. The current Police station was built next to the School of Arts on Wingecarribee Street three years later. In 1896, the Bowral courthouse was added next to the police station.
In 1886, Bowral officially became a municipality (a self-governing town). It covered 1,600 acres (about 6.5 square kilometers) and had a population of 1,000 people. The town hall, built in the Victorian Imperial-style, was constructed in 1890 next to the police station.
A sign of Bowral's growth was when its street lamps were lit by gas in 1889. This led to Bowral's first private gas-works being built in 1890.
A Country Town: 1900s - 1950s
In the early 1900s, Bowral joined the Nattai Shire, which was based in Mittagong, in 1906. During this time, Bowral's population grew a lot. In the 1920s and 1930s, Bowral got a proper water supply, a hospital (Bowral Hospital), and electricity from Port Kembla in 1925. Ten years later, the town also got a sewerage system. In 1923, Robert Loseby donated land behind Bowral Hospital for a local park. This park became a major sports ground with two ovals and later a greyhound track. Today, the park, known as "Loseby Oval," has a skatepark, tennis courts, a youth center, and sports fields.
School Development
As more Catholic families moved to the area, new Catholic schools were needed. In 1904, the nuns of Our Lady of Sacred Heart bought land called "Belmore Park" on Centennial Road and started a convent school. In 1924, Belmore Park became a boys' college run by the nuns of Our Lady of Sacred Heart. Today, Belmore Park is a public park and event center.
During World War II, the Catholic presence grew stronger with the building of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School and a new presbytery (priest's house). Just three years later, in 1946, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart bought a large property in Burradoo and started Chevalier College. This college became the biggest secondary school in the Southern Highlands and Wollondilly Regions. It started as a day and boarding school for boys. However, in the 1970s, Chevalier stopped being a boarding school and became co-educational (for both boys and girls) when the girls' convent school in Moss Vale closed.
Bowral High School was built between 1928 and 1930. It was a tribute to the ANZACs of World War I. Its original building is still used today. The school was the main high school for the area from Picton to Moss Vale until Moss Vale's primary school became a high school.
The Springett Family
The Springett Family became well-known in Bowral when they opened a general store in 1926. Twenty years later, they expanded it into a bakery and a soft-drinks factory. These were the first places to deliver soft drinks and sliced bread in the Highlands. Their soft drinks factory was also the first in Australia to make the soft drink Passiona.
Local Industries
In 1920, Bowral's Brickworks were built to supply bricks for the growing number of homes and businesses in the Southern Highlands. Bowral Brickworks are still operating today. Since the 1870s, the town had been shipping milk to nearby towns. This led to the building of Bowral's Old Milk Factory in the 1930s. This factory was very important for the dairy industry around Bowral and is still standing today.
Gardens and Nature Reserves
Since the late 1800s, Bowral residents loved gardening and planted many beautiful European trees and plants. This tradition led to the creation of "Corbett Gardens" in 1911. The gardens are named after Ada Corbett and were designed as a public garden with a large band rotunda (a round building for bands to play in). The rotunda was taken down in the 1950s but rebuilt in the 1990s with a donation from the Springett family.
In 1958, Corbett Gardens became famous when thousands of tulips bloomed there in September. This yearly event became known as "Tulip Time."
In 1919, 60 acres (about 24 hectares) of Mount Gibraltar were declared a nature reserve, protecting its natural beauty.
Hospital and Ambulance Service
Before 1863, Bowral relied on the Berrima District Hospital for health care. In 1863, Jacob Ward became Bowral's first doctor. In the late 1920s and 1930s, Bowral developed its own health system. Bowral Hospital was built in 1935 and expanded in 1959. An ambulance station was added to the hospital in 1935 on Bong Bong Street. This station was later sold and is now used as a business space.
Modern Bowral: 1950s - Present
In 1972, the Springett Family opened Springetts' Arcade in the town. In 1983, the arcade was made bigger, taking over the space of the closed Hot Canary Supermarket, which was one of the first "no frills" (basic, low-cost) grocery stores started by the Springetts.
In 1980, the Nattai Shire (Mittagong Shire) joined with Moss Vale's Wingecarribee Shire to form the current Wingecarribee Shire. In 1986, a new St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church was built next to the school and presbytery, and the old church was sold to the Evangelical Church. The 1980s also saw the construction of Oxley Mall, a shopping center.
In 1990, the state government sold unused hospital land next to Bowral Hospital, which was then used to build Bowral Private Hospital. Later in the 1990s, land in East Bowral was divided and developed into a modern suburb, almost doubling Bowral's population.
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