Peak Hill

Postcode: 2869

On the Newell Highway about halfway between Parkes and Dubbo, 370km or so north west of Sydney, Peak Hill is another one of our agriculturally-based towns which owes its beginning to the gold rushes of the mid- to late-1800s.

And if you fancy the gold rushes were all romance, take a close look at the huge open cut mines outside the town and marvel that mere men could have burrowed so deeply into the earth with nothing but hand tools and litres of blood and sweat.

Just down the road a stretch, toward Parkes, you’ll find the important CSIRO radio telescope, built in 1961, which was at the forefront of the discovery of the first quasar while astronomers were investigating strange radio signals emanating from deep space.

One of the state's newer reserves, Goobang National Park, lies just to the east of Peak Hill. Spread over 46,600 hectares, which take in Hervey, Curumbenya and Bumberry ranges, the park protects more than 300 plant species and provides sanctuary to such rare and endangered animals as the koala, brush-tailed wallaby, squirrel glider, regent honey-eater, glossy black cockatoo and superb parrot. The park is proving popular with bushwalkers and campers.

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