Gulgong Attractions

Gulgong Pioneers Museum | Henry Lawson Centre | Prince of Wales Opera House | Walking Tour

Historic Gulgong contains many attractions. Not surprising since Gulgong is an old goldmining town and Henry Lawson lived here in his early days.

Museums

Visit the Henry Lawson Centre and trace the poet's life. There is also a wealth of information on local settings for Henry's works.
Call in at the Gulgong Pioneers' Museum and see how people lived, dressed and worked in Gulgong up to 150 years ago. View the huge variety of vehicles and machinery/ You can also see an operating printing press.

Prince of Wales Opera House

The Prince of Wales Opera House is the oldest, continually operating opera house in Australia. First built in 1871 by John Hart Cogdon, the Prince of Wales Opera House was originally known as Cogdon’s Assembly Rooms. Visitors have been entertained ever since with performances from well-known artists including Dame Nellie Melba and more recently, by Roger Woodward and James Morrison. See performances by the Gulgong Musical and Dramatic Society (MADS) or witness the spectacle of the Gulgong Eisteffod and other events.

The Symbol Trail

Ever wondered what travellers did before there were tourism offices? Chester Nealie, a potter who lives near Gulgong, came across travellers’ symbols when conducting research at Sydney University. These have been recreated in footpaths in town.
Click for more on the Symbol Trail.

Heritage and Historic Buildings

Walk along the winding streets of Gulgong that follow original gold mine claims and discover different types of heritage buildings including cottages, commercial premises, chapels, churches and the Prince of Wales Opera House, many of them almost 140 years old.
Click for a map showing historic buildings.

Red Hill

Explore Red Hill with its original gold mine shaft. Red Hill (east of F9 on the Gulgong Map) provided the gold that washed down the many leads (see Gulgong's History).

Red Hill itself was disappointing. Several attempts to dig deep for reef gold proved costly, and the shafts filled with water at relatively shallow depths. Is gold still there?

See the poppet head, the mining mural and the mine shaft, safely fenced in, to the west of the Red Hill monuments.

Festivals and Events

Visit Gulgong and enjoy the Henry Lawson Heritage Festival, Gulgong Show, Eisteddfod, plays and theatre and other Gulgong club events.
Click to see what's on in Gulgong

Gulgong and the Arts

Gulgong abounds with artists, potters, tapestry workers, craftspeople and artisans, find their skilled works displayed at workshops and galleries.

Gulgong is surrounded by attractive scenery, historic farms and many vineyards with cellar door sampling and sales.