Bowral

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title: "Bowral" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bowral", "1860s-establishments-in-australia", "populated-places-established-in-the-1860s"] topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowral" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox Australian place"]

FieldValue
typetown
nameBowral
statensw
imageFile:Bowral NSW 2576, Australia - panoramio (106).jpg
captionAerial view of Bowral
lgaWingecarribee Shire
postcode2576
parishMittagong
countyCamden
est1861
coordinates
regionSouthern Highlands
pop
pop_year
pop_footnotes
elevation690
maxtemp18.7
mintemp7.9
rainfall931.7
dist1132
dir1SW
location1Sydney
dist25
dir2SW
location2Mittagong
dist3169
dir3NE
location3Canberra
dist473
dir4W
location4Wollongong
dist579
dir5NE
location5Goulburn
stategovWollondilly
fedgovWhitlam
near-nMittagong
near-eEast Bowral
near-sBurradoo
near-wBerrima
::

| type = town | name = Bowral | state = nsw | image = File:Bowral NSW 2576, Australia - panoramio (106).jpg | caption = Aerial view of Bowral | lga = Wingecarribee Shire | postcode = 2576 | parish = Mittagong | county = Camden | est = 1861 | coordinates = | region = Southern Highlands | pop = | pop_year = | pop_footnotes = | elevation= 690 | elevation_footnotes= | maxtemp = 18.7 | mintemp = 7.9 | rainfall = 931.7 | dist1 = 132 | dir1 = SW | location1= Sydney | dist2 = 5 | dir2 = SW | location2= Mittagong | dist3 = 169 | dir3 = NE | location3= Canberra | dist4 = 73 | dir4 = W | location4= Wollongong | dist5 = 79 | dir5 = NE | location5= Goulburn | stategov = Wollondilly | fedgov = Whitlam | near-n = Mittagong | near-e = East Bowral | near-s = Burradoo | near-w = Berrima Bowral ( ) is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It is 132 km south-west of Sydney and 169 km north-east of Canberra. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and the Southern Highlands.

Bowral once served as a rural summer retreat for the gentry of Sydney, resulting in the establishment of a number of estates and manor houses in the district. Bowral is often associated with the cricketer Sir Donald Bradman.

Bowral is close to several other historic towns, being 5 km from Mittagong, 9 km from both Moss Vale and Berrima. The suburb of East Bowral and the village of Burradoo are nearby.

History

Main article: History of Bowral

The name Bowral is a word derived from the Ngunnawal–Gundungurra language which was used to describe the nearby Mount Gibraltar. A clan of the Gandangara people lived in the region before British colonisation.

Bowral's colonial history extends back for approximately 200 years. The first European arrival was ex-convict John Wilson, who was commissioned by Governor Hunter to explore south of the new colony of Sydney. Other people to traverse the area include John Warby and botanist George Caley (an associate of Joseph Banks), the Hume brothers and later famous pioneer explorers John Oxley and Charles Throsby. Governor Lachlan Macquarie of the New South Wales colony had appointed 2,400 acres to John Oxley in a land grant, which was later incorporated as Bowral.

The town grew rapidly between the 1860s and the 1890s, mainly due to the building of the railway line from Sydney to Melbourne. In 1863, a permanent stone building was built for the church. However, the building would be replaced by the first Anglican church of St Simon and St Jude. The church was designed by Edmund Blacket and was built on the glebe in 1874. The church was expanded in 1887 to cater for a growing number of worshippers. Today, only Blackett's belltower remains. One of the earliest houses built as a mountain retreat was Craigieburn which was constructed in 1885.

Gardens and European plants flourished from 1887, when citizens of Bowral started planting deciduous trees to make the area look more reminiscent of Europe and the British. This legacy still lives on throughout Bowral. Notably, the oaks at the start of Bong Bong St are a characteristic that makes Bowral distinct from other rural towns, giving it strong autumn colour. The town became somewhat affluent, as many wealthy Sydney-siders purchased property or land in the town and built grand Victorian weatherboard homes.

Heritage listings

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Bowral_NSW_2576,Australia-panoramio(29).jpg" caption="Heritage buildings in Bowral"] ::

Bowral has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Etymology

Bowral, and the former spelling Bowrall, may have been derived from an Dharawal word bowrel meaning "high".

Demographics

|type= Australia |1921|2620 |1933|3005 |1947|3660 |1954|3926 |1961|4922 |1966|5210 |1971|5903 |1976|6283 |1981|6862 |1986|7390 |1991|7929 |1996|8705 |2001|10325 |2006|6971 |2011|8022 |2016|10335 |2021|10764 |source=Australian Bureau of Statistics data. Note: after 2001, Bowral and Mittagong became merged as a single urban locality for statistical purposes, and the population above counts Bowral as a State suburb instead.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Bowral_NSW_2576,Australia-panoramio(40).jpg" caption="Bowral town centre"] ::

The 2021 census recorded Bowral's population as 10,764.

At the , Bowral area, including Burradoo, had a population of 12,949. A more local area had a population of 10,335.

In 2021, 73.5% of people in Bowral were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 7.1% and New Zealand 1.8%. 88.0% of people spoke only English at home. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.0% of Bowral's population. The most common responses for religion in Bowral were No Religion 33.0%, Anglican 22.0%, and Catholic 21.2%.

In the 21st century, Bowral has become a haven for retirees and empty nesters, commonly from Sydney: 13.3% of Bowral's population is aged 55–64 years (compared with the national average of 11.8%) and 35.5% is aged over 64 years (compared with the national average of 15.8%). Consequently, the town has a number of retirement villages, some located only minutes' walk from the central business district and hospitals. Also, as measured during the 2021 census, 36.3% of the town's population are under the age of 45, whereas for the nation the figure is 58.1%.

Transportation

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Bowral_1.jpg" caption="Bowral Railway Station"] ::

Bowral is about 5 km from the Hume Highway, which goes north to Sydney and south to Canberra, the Snowy Mountains and Melbourne. In the past, Bowral served as an overnight stop-over for travellers. Bowral is situated on the B73 a route that runs from Mittagong through Bowral and onto Nowra

Bowral railway station is served by the Southern Highlands Line with services between Sydney and Moss Vale or Goulburn. Long distance services operate to Canberra and Griffith.

It has public bus routes to Nowra, Albion Park and Wollongong. A private operator provides a service six days a week from Bowral to Greater Sydney (Campbelltown, Liverpool and Parramatta) and to the Shoalhaven and south coast of New South Wales.

Climate

Bowral has an oceanic climate (Cfb), enjoying warm to mild, rainy summers and quite cool to cold winters with modest sunshine. Frost is common during winter and can even occur in summer. Snowfalls are rare, although falls in excess of 15 cm have been recorded. Historically maximum and minimum have ranged from 40.0 °C on 30 January 2003 to -11.2 °C on 11 July 1971.

|location = Bowral (Parry Drive, 1961–2015); 690 m AMSL; 34.49° S, 150.40° E |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |precipitation colour = green |Jan record high C = 40.0 |Feb record high C = 39.1 |Mar record high C = 35.7 |Apr record high C = 31.5 |May record high C = 25.5 |Jun record high C = 20.1 |Jul record high C = 20.3 |Aug record high C = 23.8 |Sep record high C = 29.1 |Oct record high C = 32.4 |Nov record high C = 38.3 |Dec record high C = 37.2 |year record high C = |Jan high C = 25.5 |Feb high C = 24.4 |Mar high C = 22.4 |Apr high C = 19.3 |May high C = 15.4 |Jun high C = 12.4 |Jul high C = 11.6 |Aug high C = 13.4 |Sep high C = 16.3 |Oct high C = 19.0 |Nov high C = 21.4 |Dec high C = 23.8 |year high C = |Jan low C = 13.4 |Feb low C = 13.5 |Mar low C = 11.6 |Apr low C = 8.2 |May low C = 5.3 |Jun low C = 3.5 |Jul low C = 2.1 |Aug low C = 3.1 |Sep low C = 5.3 |Oct low C = 7.7 |Nov low C = 9.8 |Dec low C = 11.6 |year low C = |Jan record low C = 2.1 |Feb record low C = 1.8 |Mar record low C = -0.7 |Apr record low C = -2.2 |May record low C = -6.3 |Jun record low C = -8.2 |Jul record low C = -11.2 |Aug record low C = -6.1 |Sep record low C = -5.7 |Oct record low C = -2.6 |Nov record low C = -2.2 |Dec record low C = -1.4 |year record low C = -11.2 |Jan precipitation mm = 81.9 |Feb precipitation mm = 98.4 |Mar precipitation mm = 95.2 |Apr precipitation mm = 75.8 |May precipitation mm = 69.6 |Jun precipitation mm = 84.0 |Jul precipitation mm = 45.3 |Aug precipitation mm = 61.6 |Sep precipitation mm = 55.8 |Oct precipitation mm = 71.6 |Nov precipitation mm = 92.4 |Dec precipitation mm = 78.6 |year precipitation mm = 931.7 |Jan precipitation days = 13.5 |Feb precipitation days = 13.4 |Mar precipitation days = 13.3 |Apr precipitation days = 11.1 |May precipitation days = 11.2 |Jun precipitation days = 11.2 |Jul precipitation days = 9.9 |Aug precipitation days = 9.6 |Sep precipitation days = 10.2 |Oct precipitation days = 11.6 |Nov precipitation days = 13.5 |Dec precipitation days = 12.6 |year precipitation days = 141.1 |humidity colour=green |Jan afthumidity = 57 |Feb afthumidity = 64 |Mar afthumidity = 61 |Apr afthumidity = 61 |May afthumidity = 65 |Jun afthumidity = 67 |Jul afthumidity = 64 |Aug afthumidity = 56 |Sep afthumidity = 54 |Oct afthumidity = 56 |Nov afthumidity = 60 |Dec afthumidity = 56 |year afthumidity = 60 |source 1 = {{cite web |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_068102.shtml | title = Climate statistics for Bowral (Parry Drive)| access-date = 11 February 2014 | publisher = Bureau of Meteorology}} |date=February 2014

Tourist attractions

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Bradman_Oval.jpg" caption="The [[Bradman Oval]], pavilion and museum at Bowral, NSW"] ::

Bowral is noted for its boutiques, antique stores, gourmet restaurants and cafés.

The Bradman Oval, Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame are dedicated to the achievements of cricketer Sir Donald Bradman and to the game of cricket.

Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve, in the suburb's south, is a large picnic area known for its birdwatching.

Bowral is the setting for Tulip Time at the Corbett Gardens, a springtime celebration with a profusion of tulips and other flowers planted in the town centre. A comprehensive private not-for-profit botanic garden includes a mix of exotic, native, and endemic species including a shale woodland, the endangered ecological community endemic to the site.

The town has a Vietnam War Memorial and Cherry Tree Walk, constructed along the Mittagong Rivulet that flows through the town. Along a walking/cycle track beside the stream are planted 526 cherry trees, each dedicated to a soldier who died in the service of his country.

Bowral and surrounding region was proclaimed a book town in 2000, having numerous bookshops and associations with many literary figures including P. L. Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins novels, Arthur Upfield, and many others.

First held in 2016, each spring, Bowral hosts a popular cycling event: "The Bowral Classic", which draws hundreds of participants to compete. There are multiple races ranging from 35 km to 160 km. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Bowral_panorama.jpg" caption="Bundanoon]] can be seen in the background."] ::

The Bong Bong Picnic Races, commenced in 1886, attracted crowds of up to 35,000 but were suspended in 1985 and resumed in 1992 as a members-only event. The event attracts around 5,000 people and is held annually in November, as well as other events during the year.

Bowral is also home to a few vineyards and cellar doors and is close to Mittagong, the winery centre of the Southern Highlands. There are 60 vineyards in the Southern Highlands, which is a recognised cool-climate wine district. Wineries around Bowral are listed in the Southern Highlands Wineries Index.

Bowral is overshadowed by Mount Gibraltar, which rises to 863 m above sea level and has lookouts over Bowral, Mittagong, Moss Vale and the ranges near Bundanoon.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Bowral-nsw.jpg" caption="Bowral countryside"] ::

Hospitals

The town is served by the Bowral and District Hospital, which also serves the Southern Highlands region. Founded in 1889, it is the only hospital operated outside the Sydney metropolitan area by the South Western Sydney Local Health District.

Bowral also has access to a private hospital operated by Ramsay Health Care, which includes short and long stay facilities although it lacks an emergency department.

Schools

Schools in Bowral:

Churches

Churches in Bowral:

Media

Television

Bowral receive five free-to-air television stations (television in Australia) including two government funded networks:

The ABC, the SBS and three commercial networks:

ABC, SBS, Seven, Nine (WIN) and Network 10 all offer digital high-definition simulcasts of their main channels.

All five networks broadcast additional channels including: 7two, 7mate, 7flix, 9Go!, 9Gem, 9Life, ABC Family, ABC Entertains, ABC News, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS Food, 10 Drama, 10 Comedy and Nickelodeon.

Radio

Radio stations that broadcast to the town are:

Newspapers

The Southern Highland News is the town's local weekly newspaper.

Notable residents

References

References

  1. ''[[Macquarie Dictionary. Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition]]'' (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. {{ISBN. 1-876429-14-3
  2. Wilson, Robert. (1990). "Discover Australia". Books for Pleasure.
  3. "St Jude's: History and Heritage".
  4. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045130. Kurkulla
  5. {{cite NSW SHR. 5014211. Bradman Oval and Collection of Cricket Memorabilia
  6. {{cite NSW SHR. 5060563. Mount Gibraltar Trachyte Quarries Complex
  7. "okTravel – Bowral Profile".
  8. Croucher, John S.. (2020). "A Concise History of New South Wales". Woodslane Press.
  9. "Statistics by Catalogue Number". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  10. "Search Census data". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  11. "2021 Bowral, Census All persons QuickStats".
  12. "2021 Bowral, Census All persons QuickStats {{!}} Australian Bureau of Statistics".
  13. {{Census 2016 AUS
  14. link. (8 February 2011 at Villages.com.au directory)
  15. "Home {{!}} Bradman Foundation".
  16. [http://www.southern-highlands.com.au/tulip-time Tulip Time] {{Webarchive. link. (23 November 2012 at southern-highlands.com.au)
  17. [http://www.southern-highlands.com.au/gardens Gardens] {{webarchive. link. (26 September 2013 at southern-highlands.com.au)
  18. [http://www.shbg.com.au/index.html Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens] {{webarchive. link. (9 April 2013 Accessed 5 September 2013)
  19. [http://www.vvaa.org.au/local07.htm Cherry Tree Walk Vietnam War Memorial] at Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia website
  20. [http://www.booktown.com.au/media_release.htm Australasia's First Book Town launched in NSW Southern Highlands March 2000.] {{Webarchive. link. (14 March 2018 Media release at Booktown Australia)
  21. "Mary Poppins Birthplace - Bowral".
  22. [http://www.booktown.com.au/booktrailMR.htm BOOKtrail Launched in NSW Southern Highlands] {{Webarchive. link. (14 March 2018 Media release at Booktown Australia)
  23. "Bowral Classic - NSW road cycling event 18 October 2020".
  24. "Bowral Classic".
  25. "Bong Bong Picnic Race Club Limited".
  26. [http://www.highlandsnsw.com.au/wineries/index.html Southern Highlands Wineries Index] at highlandsnsw.com.au
  27. "Bowral Hospital".
  28. "Contact Us".
  29. "Highland FM".
  30. "Southern Highland News".
  31. "Videos {{!}} cricket.com.au".

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bowral1860s-establishments-in-australiapopulated-places-established-in-the-1860s