Sofala

For those who don't know Sofala, it is a historic town located 46 kms north of Bathurst.  It is Australia's oldest surviving gold rush town, set in an idyllic location beside the pretty Turon River.  Sofala came into existence as a direct result of the goldrush which had been precipitated when Edward Hargraves discovered gold at Summerhill Creek on 12 February, 1851. By 1853 the town was little more than 'wood huts or as they term them shingle, weatherboard, houses and tents. There were many tents scattered along the river.'  The fortune of the town was all too brief. By May 1854 there were less than 500 diggers on the field and by 1855, with new gold discoveries occurring at Wattle Flat, Sofala was in decline.

Court House

 

Painted on a gate

Turon River after flooding earlier in the year

Turon River again showing the ravages of flood