Top Things To Do
Visit Jugiong by the magnificent Murrumbidgee to enjoy the riverside ambiance, the historic ‘Sir George’ hotel, heritage cottage stays, colonial history and the Sergeant Parry Memorial, or revel in a distinctive village shopping experience.
Located by the banks of the Murrumbidgee, The Sir George is a wonderful, old-fashioned, country pub that is guaranteed to exceed your expectations. Built in 1852, the historic venue has been beautifully restored to create a warm and relaxed space where old-meets-new, with accommodation, restaurant, and boutique bar. Feeling the need for a retail hit? That’s all part of The Sir George experience: Peek upstairs at the Curators Collective, which retails designer curated fashions, homewares and furniture or pop into the grounds to The Potting Shed with its gardeners’ gifts and rustic homewares.
Planning a picnic or dining in? The Jugiong Wine Cellar champions the four major surrounding wine regions of Tumbarumba, Canberra District (Murrumbateman) Gundagai and of course, Hilltops. A curated range of wines from each of these regions is featured and complemented with a range of local produce. To further delight the senses, there is also an ever-changing display of artworks by local and regional artists.
The Long Track Pantry is Jugiong’s country food store and café, jam-packed full of Long Track Pantry handmade relishes, preserves, chutneys, jams, and marmalades. The cafe is open for lunch and breakfast daily, 8am – 4pm (closed Tuesdays).
If you’d like to feel utterly pampered whilst relaxing at your rural retreat, book a visit to the sublime state-of-the-art concept salon, Parlour J Health & Beauty. Parlour J is ‘a destination for indulgence, remedy, and tranquility… a space committed to a Happier. Healthier. You!’
Planning to visit The Hilltops? See you in Jugiong!
Located in the picturesque bluestone, heritage-listed Mounted Police Barracks built in the 1880’s, the elegant Murringo Barracks Gallery features works from local, regional, and national artists. Works on display include drawings and paintings by owner and curator, artist Therese Crowe, widely known for her light-filled local landscapes and portraits. Murringo Barracks Gallery also hosts numerous exhibitions throughout the year.
In addition to the gallery, the guest house in a separate building at the rear of the property has been recently renovated to a country-style getaway with modern amenities. The three-bedroom cottage sleeps up to six people. It is fully self-contained and air-conditioned for your year-round comfort.
Whilst in Murringo, a visit to the bushman museum and tribute centre at the Taubman and Webb Trading Post – which also doubles as a wine tasting venue for nearby Trandari Wines – is a must! The Taubman and Webb Trading Post is a tribute centre to the late Syd Bayliss, renowned bushman, plaiter and whip maker. The Centre displays many leather items which were made and used by Syd. The Trading Post also displays and sells leather items made by local whip maker, attraction name-sake Richard Taubman. There is also honey, produce and even eggs for sale.
Richard and Leah Taubman are dedicated to keeping Syd’s stories alive for future generations by hosting whip-making classes and Richard demonstrates his whip-cracking skills with his infamous whip, “Big Bertha” a 20-metre whip he made – which he often cracks down the main drag in Murringo.
- Murringo Barracks Gallery
Murringo Road, Murringo, NSW, Australia, 2586
0428 851 234
www.murringobarracks.com - Taubman and Webb Trading Post
26 Murringo Gap Road
New South Wales 2586
(02) 6871 2017
https://www.taubmanandwebb.com/
The Lambing Flat Chinese Tribute Garden is located at the Chinaman’s Dam reserve just four kilometres from the town centre and was established to recognise the contribution of the Chinese community to the settlement of Young and to the ongoing contributions of the Chinese community to Australia as a Nation.
Part of Young’s history includes the 1861 Lambing Flat Miner’s Riot when European miners targeted Chinese miners peacefully working on their plots, attempting to ‘run them off’ the site for good. The Lambing Flat Chinese Tribute Garden has been a way for the community to redress and acknowledge this difficult part of our history.
Now a well-established garden set in a quiet, relaxing, and picturesque site, the garden is the perfect spot for a relaxing morning, lunch, or afternoon with picnic facilities and barbecues.
Bring your family or a friend or two to share the vibe and relish the opportunity to take home something special, or bag a bargain. Take a leisurely break and browse stalls for plants and fresh fruit in season, hunt for home-made jams or peruse the range of handmade items from soaps to planters, knitted beanies to bird boxes. Visitors can enjoy a coffee or breakfast as local community organisations often run a barbecue at the markets – food stalls may vary from month to month but there is always something delicious on offer.
Step out of the everyday grind and discover Koorawatha – you’ll be rewarded with fresh air, beautiful scenery, and extraordinary places to visit.
Located roughly 30 minutes from Young and Boorowa is the scenic Koorawatha Nature Reserve, part of the Illunie Range and home to the famous Koorawatha Falls and Weir. Initially built across Bang Bang Creek in 1913 to supply water to the railway, the weir is now a tranquil spot surrounded by trees and birdsong. Continue past the weir to find Koorawatha Falls, located about 7km from the highway. Please note, the falls are at their best and most visible after rainfall or in a ‘wet’ year.
The Koorawatha Falls and Nature Reserve is deeply significant to the Wiradjuri People, the First Nation’s People of the region, and as such should be treated with respect, or “Yindyamarra” in Wiradjuri. The Wiradjuri phrase Yindyamarra Winhanganha means the wisdom of respectfully knowing how to live well in a world worth living in. Why not take a visit to Koorawatha weir and falls to get back to nature and contemplate what “Yindyamarra Winhanganha” means to you? There is a BBQ and picnic tables at the 4WD area near the weir and the Hotel Koorawatha has a great little café-bistro, open Fridays and Weekends for lunch 12 – 2pm and dinner Tuesday – Sunday 6 to 8pm. The hotel also has six hotel rooms and a large beer garden to enjoy one of the local wines or ice-cold beers after a day exploring the region.
Visitors can also enjoy Koorawatha Community Markets on the Fifth Saturday of the Month from 9am to 1pm at Memorial Park, Boorowa Street; call the Hotel Koorawatha or Young Visitor Information Centre for any further information.
If you are driving, please note that the area near to Koorawatha Falls is only accessible with extreme care along an uneven dirt track and by 4-wheel drive vehicles only.
The Southern Cross Cinema and Arts Centre is a community project primarily run by Hilltops Arts Council and a troop of dedicated community volunteers. The Cinema and Arts Centre is housed in the historic Southern Cross Hall – a renovated and repurposed former dance hall and theatre that many older members of our community remember as a wonderful venue and meeting place.
The cinema offers all the trending and newly released movies, so locals and visitors alike can enjoy a night out with plenty of popcorn, traditional choc-top ice creams and many other tasty delights.
The Southern Cross Cinema and Arts Centre is also the home of the Young Society of Artists who have a workroom and Studio One Gallery. The Cinema and Arts Complex provides rehearsal and performance space for Hilltops Regional Theatre Company Incorporated and Christine Wishart Dance Studios as well as hosting local performances and theatre productions, community events and fundraisers, birthday parties, exhibitions and workshops.
For more information contact Hilltops Arts or Southern Cross Cinema and Arts Centre on 6382 1000 or email manager@southerncrosscinema.org
Take your own Street Arts tour throughout the Hilltops Region to peruse the many examples of community, public, memorial and commercial art works that decorate our streets and parks.
If you’re looking for street art with a difference, try Boorowa. If you take the beautiful Boorowa River Walk and you will see 3 works that form part of Poetry: The Indelible Stencil. This incredible public art project celebrates poetry and place, with installations across the Southern Tablelands Arts [STA] region. This project was conceived and coordinated by poet Lizz Murphy who worked with 9 other regional poets to create works in response to the environment of the seven LGAs that make up the STA region. The poems feature on permanent sculptures that look like large, rusted iron stencils and are installed in unexpected and uniquely beautiful locations.
Poetry: The Indelible Stencil was made possible with funding from the Regional Arts Fund and the Country Arts Support Program (CASP) with the support of the Hilltops, Wollondilly, Wingecarribee, Goulburn Mulwaree, Upper Lachlan, Yass Valley, and Queanbeyan Palerang Councils.
We’ve mentioned the Silo Arts Trail, but have you heard of the ‘Sheep Arts Trail’? In 2022 local Boorowa artists were invited to paint designs on life-size resin sheep to create a ‘Sheep Art Trail’ which is located at various sites throughout Boorowa and the surrounding villages. Take a wander and see if you can spot the sheep – they’re colourful and unique, like Boorowa itself!
Something more traditional but equally unique is Boorowa’s historic Anzac Memorial. The memorial is a fantastic example of community, arts and architecture and stands at the crossroads of Murringo Rd and Marsden Streets. The memorial dates initially from 1932 when the Boorowa Sub-branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia’ held a competition for a design for “a war memorial building. The form that the memorial is to take is that of a room, surmounted by a clock tower, to be used as a club room by the local members of the League. The cost is not to exceed £800.”
The design they chose is an unusual, octagonal red-brick building “with tiled roof, surmounted by a turret housing a four-faced clock” – and, rather than using numerals, the clock face spells ANZAC above and below.
Located just 30 minutes from Young and 90 minutes from Canberra are the twin towns of Harden-Murrumburrah.
The twin towns have a proud history of Australian service, trade and creativity and recognise this as part of the towns’ abundant street art and sculpture. There’s the Light Horse Memorial in Albury Street Murrumburrah, which honours the very first call up of the First Australian Light Horse on August 30, 1897. Adjacent to this is an amazing sculpture of Australia’s best-known war-horse, Bill the Bastard. This almost life-size sculpture by local artist and master sculptor, Carl Valerius, commemorates the epic feat when Bill and his rider Major Michael Shanahan saved four Tasmanian soldiers from no man’s land at the Battle of Romani during WWI. As part of the memorial area there is also a striking life-size work by Victorian sculptor, Mr Louis Laumen of the man who first ‘called up’ the Lighthorse: Wallendbeen born Major-General, the Honourable James Alexander Kenneth Mackay CB, OBE, VD, FRGS.
The Major General stands over the main Rd from the former Murrumburrah flour mill where a colourful, contemporary mural depicts the mill’s history, farm workers, a working horse team and the region’s golden grain harvest. The Murrumburrah Silo Art is the 46th work of art on the Australian-wide silo art trail and was created by acclaimed Mongolian street artist, Heesco. The mural and sculptures are a must-see when visiting Harden-Murrumburrah.
The Hilltops Region has so much for the art enthusiast, drop into any of our Visitor Information Centres to find out about local galleries, workshops and events.
The Hilltops Region is home to many iconic native species and so many can be seen and heard throughout the Hilltops’ surrounding bush and towns.
The major towns of the Hilltops Region all have wonderful green spaces and tree-lined streets. If you love to hear birdsong and watch our furred, finned, feathered or scaly friends, the Hilltops Region’s trails are for you. There are Bird Trails providing information allowing locals and visitors to explore areas that are known for high bird activity, and if you’re lucky, you may see an elusive Superb Parrot, a tiny Pardalote or a rare Spotted Harrier! You can take the Scenic Drive North to Koorawatha and Touts Lookout, or South to the Murrumbidgee at Jugiong or Galong Monastery and look out for some of the beautiful fauna and bird species that live here.
In many ways, the Hilltops Region’s history can be seen and mapped in its heritage buildings. From the time of the gold rush to the First World War and later, the architecture of the towns and villages speaks volumes, from rustic colonial buildings such as Murringo’s “Taubman and Webb Trading Post” on to the authority of the late 1800s Classical Style seen in many of the public buildings in the larger towns to the ‘softer’ Arts and Crafts Style to the memorial buildings created post WWI. There’s 20th Century Art Deco, through to Mid Century Modern and beyond, especially in many of the buildings made for entertainment, and each town and village has its own flavour and flare.
