Forbes, New South Wales
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Forbes is a small town and Local Government Area (Shire of Forbes) in the central west of New South Wales, Australia. Forbes is located on the Newell Highway between Parkes and West Wyalong. It is on the banks of the Lachlan River. It is 245m above sea-level and about 380 km west of Sydney. The district is a cropping area where wheat and similar crops are grown. Towns and villages near-by are: Bedgerbong, Bundbarrah, Corridgery, Daroobalgie, Eugowra, Oona North and Paytens Bridge.
History
The area was occupied by the Wiradjuri people prior to white settlement. John Oxley passed through in 1817 during one of the first inland expeditions. Oxley named the site Camp Hill. He was unimpressed with the clay soil, poor timber and swamps and he concluded, it is impossible to imagine a worse country. The first settlerd moved into the district in 1834.
The course of the town's history took a dramatic turn with the discovery of gold by Harry Stephens in June 1861. The Albion Hotel, was once a Cobb & Co. stage coach stop, has tunnels situated underneath which were used during the gold rush to convey gold and money to and from the banks to minimise the chance of theft. Initially about 30,000 people moved to the Lachlan goldfields, but by 1863 this had reduced to about 3,500 because of the difficult mining conditions. It was during this gold-rush that the name Forbes came into use. The name posibally comes from the surname of Francis Forbes, the first chief justice of NSW. One of Australia's most renown bushrangers, Ben Hall, was shot dead in gun battle about 20 km to the north-west of town on May 5, 1865. Hall and his gang were famous for stealing 77 kg of gold and £3,700 from the near-by town of Eugowra in 1862. He is buried in the Forbes Cemetery.
Forbes was declared a municipality in 1870. The rail head from Sydney reached Forbes in 1893.