Stuart Town

Postcode: 2820

Stuart Town, formerly known as Ironbark, is a small town on the Central Western Slopes of New South Wales, Australia in Wellington Council. It is located about 380 km north-west of Sydney. The area around the town is rich in cattle farming and orchards, so the town serves as a service centre to that area. The town was established in 1879 with the arrival of the railway from Sydney after reports of gold being found in the area, but was not fully established until the construction of the nearby Lake Burrendong. The town was formerly called Ironbark and so is the feature of the Banjo Patterson poem, "The Man from Ironbark".

It is the birthplace of the former New South Wales Premier Sir Robert Askin.

The town is presently served by the daily Countrylink XPT service which runs between Sydney and Dubbo.

By 1880 there were four hotels in existence, with another at Mookerawa. The first gold dredging in NSW was allegedly carried out here in 1899. Most mining had ceased in 1914 although some dredging continued until 1958. Reef and alluvial activities retrieved 4 metric tonnes of gold between 1875 and 1914. In the early days an ounce (28.3 g) of gold was worth three times an average weekly wage. The riches attracted a number of bushrangers. Ben Hall and his associates robbed a wine shanty at Mookerawa at one point. The well-known NSW Premier, Robert Askin, was born at Stuart Town in 1901.

Stuart Town's annual fair is held at Easter and Mumbil's on the Australia Day weekend.

For more information about this town, click here