In the picturesque Cudgegong River Valley, 270 kilometres (168 miles) west of Sydney, the town of Mudgee is a popular weekend destination for Sydneysiders, as well as visitors from farther afield. Its bucolic attractions make it the perfect stopover on a road trip, as we found while travelling around the state. We also took in the nearby towns of Gulgong, Rylstone and Hill End.
Mudgee was the first town in Australian tourism awards history to be inducted into the National Hall of Fame. Known for its gourmet experiences and picturesque countryside, Mudgee is one of Australia’s great food and wine destinations. Nestled alongside the beautiful Cudgegong River, the town still possesses the character and charm of its 19th-century past, with something for every kind of traveller. It was settled by European colonists in the 1820s and its population grew rapidly during the goldrush of the 1850s, which occurred in the areas near Mudgee.
You quickly get your bearings with a stroll along Mudgee’s elegant tree-lined streets where you’ll discover beautifully preserved colonial buildings, including the Mudgee Post and Telegraph Office at 80 Market Street designed by architect Alexander Dawson in 1862. It’s a significant landmark in Mudgee reflecting the architectural style and civic importance of the period.
There is a guided Heritage Walking Tour that starts at the Clock Tower on the corner of Church and Market Streets. Credit for laying out the broad streets of Mudgee is usually given to surveyor Robert Hoddle, who of course went on to lay out a similar grid design for Melbourne in 1837. However, on the Heritage Walking Tour visitors are told that Mortimer Lewis was in fact responsible for the original Mudgee street design. If you’d prefer not to grapple with this conflicting information you can just as easily design your own walk.
At 126 Market Street is the Mudgee Museum, which tells the story of Mudgee through its collection of approximately 60,000 items. The collection is displayed in several buildings on site including a mid-19th-century hotel, an early 20th-century church and a replica of a slab hut, a 19th-century dwelling built with timber cut from local gum trees.
Mudgee’s historic railway station on Inglis Street was built in the late 19th century to a design drawn up by railway engineer, John Whitton. The station building features delicate cast-iron decorative lacework and a waiting room constructed of cedar. The first train to arrive there was a mixed goods and mail train on 10 September 1884.
The original station building was categorised as one of approximately twenty 'first-class' stations. It was classified by the National Trust (NSW) in 1977 and listed on the Register of the National Estate in 1978.
Regular passenger services to Mudgee ceased in 1985 but the line continued to be used by tourist and freight trains for some time. The historic building is no longer used as a railway station but is leased by various community groups.
St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, officially known as St Mary of the Presentation Church, is another heritage-listed building at 13 Church Street. It was added to the New South Wales Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. It is a Gothic Revival Church with the sanctuary and vestry part of the original 1857 sandstone building. It was effectively rebuilt between 1873 and 1876 to the design of Bathurst country architect, Edward Gell. The steeple was added in 1911.
Mudgee's old Town Hall at 64 Market Street was completed in 1881 and is also listed on the state heritage register. Today it houses the local Library and a theatre-cum-cinema.
Mudgee is also renowned for its vibrant arts and culture, reflected in the state-of-the-art Mudgee Arts Precinct at 90 Market Street, one of Australia’s newest regional galleries.
Photo: Destination NSW
Mudgee Arts Precinct (MAP) is the Mid-Western Region’s new cultural home, open only since late 2021. Delivering an exhibition program that features artistic excellence from the community and beyond, the precinct is a starting point for the many tourists that come to the region, while the gallery space is enjoyed by visitors and locals alike.
Photo: Destination NSW
Exhibition spaces at MAP consist of a purpose-built main gallery housing the primary exhibition program, together with a community gallery and seminar space upstairs in the refurbished section of the historical Cudgegong Chambers building.
From Mudgee Arts Precinct you can also enjoy exploring the Cudgegong River and Lawson Park Sculpture Trail.
Photos: Destination NSW
You’ll find delicious food and wine at top vineyard restaurants like Pipeclay Pumphouse and The Zin House, enticing wine bars such as Roth's Wine Bar and delightful cafes like Alby & Esther’s, tucked down an historic cobblestone laneway. For locally made craft beers, head to The Mudgee Brewing Co and Three Tails Brewery and Smokehouse.
East of Mudgee, you’ll find Ganguddy-Dunns Swamp on the Cudgegong River, a popular spot for camping, fishing, bushwalking and kayaking in the World Heritage-listed Wollemi National Park.
Mudgee’s clear night skies are a bonus for stargazers. A short drive from the town centre is the Mudgee Observatory, where you can see the Milky Way galaxy up close through a range of telescopes. There are night and day tours, as well as a theatre and flat screen planetarium. For a bird’s-eye view of the picturesque region, jump on a hot air balloon ride with Balloon Aloft.
The following pictures were taken in and around the nearby towns of Gulgong, Rylstone and Hill End.
Mudgee is a three-and-a-half-hour drive northwest of Sydney via the Blue Mountains. FlyPelican operates direct flights between Sydney and Mudgee several days a week. Flight time is 50 minutes. You can also catch a train and coach service from Sydney with a journey time of five to six hours.
Photos © Judy Barford except where otherwise credited
Title picture Destination NSW
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