Known as the home of Australian motorsport, Bathurst is a city that loves racing, gold mining and preserving its heritage in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. Visitors can pan for gold and explore cultural villages, museums, waterfalls, limestone caves and a charming city centre.

Things to do

The central square in Bathurst showcases Victorian buildings and throwbacks to its gold mining history in the 1800s. Visit History Hill Museum to view over 10,000 artefacts from the gold fields and check out the Australian Fossil & Mineral Museum to see the Somerville Collection of rare minerals, fossils, amethysts, rubies and diamonds. It also houses an intact Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.

Head over to Bathurst Goldfields and roam through a recreated gold mining village with a mine, steam engines, blacksmith forge and miner’s hut. Check out old mining tools and other artefacts in the two on-site museums. Architecture buffs will also enjoy visiting Abercrombie House, a 50-room Scottish baronial mansion.

The proverbial “need for speed” isn’t just a platitude in Bathurst, which is home to the Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit, a public road that transforms into a high-speed racing course during the Bathurst 1000. Check out the National Motor Racing Museum for racing exhibits and memorabilia, such as racing cars, trophies and posters.

Take a one-hour drive from Bathurst to explore the Abercrombie Caves, part of the Abercrombie Karst Conservation Reserve. These limestone caves include one of biggest natural tunnels in the world. You can pan for gold, go fossicking in the creek and walk to Grove Creek Falls.

Getting around

Bathurst is about 200 kilometres from Sydney along the Great Western Highway. You can pick up a rental car at Bathurst Regional Airport or use taxis and buses to get around.