With the holidays upon us and the weather just beginning to warm up, Roy decided it was a perfect time to head towards the central west. He loves this area, and knows lots of people head towards Orange and Bathurst for their September holidays to see the beautiful countryside. However, he also knows of several hidden gems in the area which, although they are featured on tourist maps and in guides, are all too often overlooked. This week, Roy thought he would take you to just of these places, Millthorpe, which he visited recently.
If you would like to visit Millthorpe is isn't far from Bathurst - about 20 to 30 minutes drive. Millthorpe is even closer to Orange, and you can reach the town in between 10 to 20 minutes. To get to the town, follow the Mitchell Highway from either Bathurst or Orange and then turn onto Millthorpe Road. Keep driving until you find the town. There is plenty to see and do in the town, including shops and restaurants, and also lots of heritage to see. There is a signposted heritage walk around the town, with old photos to show you what Millthorpe used to look like. There is also a fantastic museum to see! Keep your eye out for hidden beauties in the town like the pressed metal entrance in the photo below!
Today, Millthorpe is a quiet country town, but once, it was a busy community centre. Millthorpe was originally a forested area, known for its wildlife. In fact, the area was known as The Forest, and there were just a few white settlers in the area running farms. Then, in 1851 payable gold was found at Ophir and, along with the Robertson Land Act of 1861, this made the Millthorpe area more inviting to settlers. The first real signs of a town in the area came when a slab schoolhouse was built by the Church of England in 1867, which of course implied that there were children to teach! The town was called Spring Grove and was not far from another settlement, called Spring Hill. In 1877 the railway was extended to run through the town, but there was no station until 1886. The railways thought that the station at Spring Hill was close enough, but the community lobbied and eventually won their station. This brought prosperity to the agricultural community as they could send their produce by the railway to bigger towns and cities.
So why is the town now known as Millthorpe? In 1880, the local farmers union had a demonstration of steam technology in the district. Soon after, they decided a flour mill would be a good investment for the district. At first, the mill was to be built at Spring Hill, but the location was moved to Spring Grove instead. Although the wheat grown around the district wasn't actually the best for milling, the Spring Grove Mill became one of the biggest in the state and when the community wanted to change the name of the town, they decided to acknowledge this important industry by calling the town Millthorpe. The Mill opened in 1884 and continued to operate until 1960!
