A significant milestone in the region’s history will be celebrated in the village of Lucknow next month as it marks 175 years since the discovery of gold.
Members of the community are invited to step back in time and celebrate the anniversary by exploring Lucknow and the Wentworth Mine on July 4-5.
Lucknow Community Committee Chair, Cr Melanie McDonell, says the anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the event that helped shape the Central West and the district’s rich heritage.
Wentworth Mine will be open from 10am to 2.30pm both days.
“The discovery of gold at Lucknow changed the course of our local history. This milestone recognises not only the excitement of the gold rush, but the people, innovation and resilience that built our community.”
For tens of thousands of years, the area has been part of Wiradjuri Country, before European exploration crossed the Blue Mountains in 1813 and pastoralists moved into the district in the 1830s.
By the late 1830s, prominent colonial figure William Charles Wentworth had consolidated nearly 5000 acres of pastoral land at Lucknow.
Everything changed in 1851, when gold was discovered on Wentworth’s land, just two months after the discovery of the country’s first payable gold at Ophir.
These discoveries drew prospectors and transformed the region almost overnight.
Within months, Lucknow became the site of one of Australia’s earliest organised mining ventures, with the formation of the Wentworth Gold Field Company, which was the first gold mining company registered in Australia.
The settlement grew into the village of Lucknow, named in 1863. At its peak in the 1890s, the field supported hundreds of workers, extensive underground workings and substantial industrial infrastructure.
Mining continued into the 20th century, with renewed efforts during the 1930s, however, like many historic goldfields, activity eventually declined and mining at Lucknow finally ceased in 1960.
Today, Lucknow retains a rare connection to its past, with the Wentworth Main Mine and Reform Mine steel poppet heads providing a glimpse into more than a century of gold mining in the region.
The Wentworth Mine will be open from 10am-2.30pm on July 4-5. Visitors should wear closed-in shoes. There is car and coach parking, a picnic area behind the mine site off Emu Swamp Road and a public toilet in the mine site. Wheelchair access is available by calling Orange City Library on 6393 8170 during business hours to make arrangements.
