Bowral

Bowral (

Bowral's colonial history extends back for approximately 200 years. During the pre-colonial era, the land was home to an Aboriginal tribe known as

Bowral has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Evans Lane: Kurkulla^[5]
• Glebe Street: Bradman Oval^[6]
• Oxley Drive: Mount Gibraltar Trachyte Quarries Complex^[7]

Etymology

Bowral, and the former spelling Bowrall,^[8] may have been derived from an Dharawal word bowrel meaning "high".^[9]

Demographics

The 2021 census recorded Bowral's population as 10,764.^[12]

At the 2016 census, Bowral area, including Burradoo, had a population of 12,949.^[13] A more local area had a population of 10,335.^[14]

In 2021, 73.5% of people in Bowral were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 7.1% and New Zealand 1.8%. 88.0% of people spoke only English at home. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.0% of Bowral's population. The most common responses for religion in Bowral were No Religion 33.0%, Anglican 22.0%, and Catholic 21.2%.^[13]

In the 21st century, Bowral has become a haven for retirees and empty nesters, commonly from Sydney: 13.3% of Bowral's population is aged 55–64 years (compared with the national average of 11.8%) and 35.5% is aged over 64 years (compared with the national average of 15.8%).^[13] Consequently, the town has a number of retirement villages,^[15] some located only minutes' walk from the central business district and hospitals. Also, as measured during the 2021 census, 36.3% of the town's population are under the age of 45, whereas for the nation the figure is 58.1%.^[13]

Transportation

Bowral is about 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the Hume Highway, which goes north to Sydney and south to Canberra, the Snowy Mountains and Melbourne. In the past, Bowral served as an overnight stop-over for travellers.

Bowral has an oceanic climate (Cfb), enjoying warm to mild, rainy summers and quite cool to cold winters with modest sunshine. Frost is common during winter and can even occur in summer. Snowfalls are rare, although falls in excess of 15 cm have been recorded. Historically maximum and minimum have ranged from 40.0 °C (104.0 °F) on 30 January 2003 to −11.2 °C (11.8 °F) on 11 July 1971.

Tourist attractions

Bowral is noted for its boutiques, antique stores, gourmet restaurants and cafés.

The

Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve, in the suburb's south, is a large picnic area known for its birdwatching.

Bowral is the setting for

The town has a Vietnam War Memorial and Cherry Tree Walk, constructed along the Mittagong Rivulet that flows through the town. Along a walking/cycle track beside the stream are planted 526 cherry trees, each dedicated to a soldier who died in the service of his country.^[21]

Bowral and surrounding region was proclaimed a book town in 2000,^[22] having numerous bookshops and associations with many literary figures including P. L. Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins novels,^[23] Arthur Upfield, and many others.^[24]

First held in 2016, each spring, Bowral hosts a popular cycling event: "The Bowral Classic", which draws hundreds of participants to compete.^[25][26] There are multiple races ranging from 35 km to 160 km.

The Bong Bong Picnic Races, commenced in 1886, attracted crowds of up to 35,000 but were suspended in 1985 and resumed in 1992 as a members-only event. The event attracts around 5,000 people and is held annually in November,[27] as well as other events during the year.

Bowral is also home to a few

Hospitals

The town is served by the Bowral and District Hospital, which also serves the Southern Highlands region.^[29] Founded in 1889, it is the only hospital operated outside the Sydney metropolitan area by the South Western Sydney Local Health District.

Bowral also has access to a private hospital operated by Ramsay Health Care, which includes short and long stay facilities although it lacks an emergency department.^[30]

Schools

Schools in Bowral:

• Bowral High School
• Bowral Public School
• Chevalier College (Burradoo)
• Oxley College (Burradoo
  )
• Southern Highlands Christian School (East Bowral)
• St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School

Churches

Churches in Bowral:

• The Fields Church, an Acts 29 Network church
• Anglican Church
• Roman Catholic Church
• St Andrew's Presbyterian Church
• Bowral Uniting Church
• Bowral First Church of Christ, Scientist
• Bowral Baptist Church
• Bowral Salvation Army
• Bowral Church of Christ
• Seventh-day Adventist Church

Notable residents

• Sir Edmund Barton: First Prime Minister of Australia
• Billy Birmingham: comedian, aka "The 12th Man"
• Sir
  Donald Bradman: Australian cricketer, the town's welcoming sign features a likeness of him getting ready to hit.^[31]
• Ita Buttrose: journalist, businesswoman, and Australian of the year 2013
• Jennifer Byrne: journalist and former book publisher
• Richard Carleton: former 60 Minutes reporter. Born in Bowral
• Lauren Cheatle: Lives in Bowral. Fast Bowler for Australia women's cricket team, NSW Breakers and Sydney Sixers.
• Bryce Courtenay: South African novelist
• G. F. J. Dart: headmaster of Ballarat Grammar School 1942–1970
• Andrew Denton: television producer, comedian, television presenter and former radio host
• Frank Debenham: Antarctic scientist and geographer
• Roy De Maistre: painter, born Bowral 1894
• Lorrae Desmond: actress (A Country Practice). Born in Mittagong
• John Fahey: former NSW Premier, federal parliamentarian, president of the (sports) World Anti-Doping Agency
• Peter Garrett: former Gillard government minister and band member of Midnight Oil
• Scott Geddes: rugby league player
• Merv Hicks: Rugby league international
• NRL
• Geoff Jansz: television chef
• James Kemsley: cartoonist (Ginger Meggs)
• Graham Kennedy: "The King" of Australian television
• John Kerin: politician, former Treasurer of Australia. Born in Bowral
• Peter Khan: former member of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing institution of the Baháʼí Faith^{[32][circular reference}
  ].
• Elspeth McLachlan: neuroscientist, born in Bowral
• Geoff Morrell: artist, actor Blue Heelers
• John Olsen: artist
• Paul Ramsay: businessman and philanthropist
• Craig Reucassel: television satirist, attended Bowral High School
• Leo Sayer: singer-songwriter
• ABC
• Tim Storrier: artist, winner of the 2012 Archibald Prize
• P. L. Travers: author of Mary Poppins
• Arthur Upfield: author of the Boney detective novels
• Paul White: "The Jungle Doctor" medical missionary to Tanganyika, author
• Geordie Williamson: Mathematician specialising in representation theory
• Tim the Yowie Man, lived his formative years in Bowral from 1982 to 1990. Cryptonaturalist, author, tour guide, motivational speaker, tv personality, radio broadcaster.

See also

• New Empire Cinema (Bowral)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bowral, New South Wales.

• Wingecaribee Shire Council – Administering and Based in Moss Vale
• Information on Bowral and its History Archived 21 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
• BookTown Australia Archived 18 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
• "The Southern Highlands News". (local newspaper). Archived from the original on 21 May 2008.