Situated on the Belubula River, Canowindra (pronounced /kəˈnaʊndrə/ kə-NOWN-drə[2]) is a historic township and the largest population centre in Cabonne Shire. The town is located between Orange and Cowra in the central west of New South Wales, Australia. The curving main street, Gaskill Street, is partly an urban conservation area.
The name of the town is derived from an Aboriginal language (Wiradjuri) word meaning 'a home'[3] or 'camping place'.[4]
Prior to the arrival of Europeans to Australia, the area now known as Canowindra was occupied for tens of thousands of years by a people known as the Wiradjuri.[5] These "people of the three rivers" were hunters and gatherers who exploited the resources available in the rivers and the lands, particularly the river flats.[6]
The first land grant of 640 acres to a European in the area was to James Collits by Governor Ralph Darling in 1829 as a reward for "pointing out a line of road from Mt. York to Bathurst". Subsequently, Collits' father, Pierce, was granted land adjacent to the original grant.[7] There is some evidence that James (or the succeeding owner, Thomas Icely) named the property "Canoundra". Collits owned other significant tracts of land in the area, together with a store and the first hotel. A settlement slowly grew, and as early as 1844 the village (now referred to as "Canowindra") was the site of a government pound.[4]
A post office opened at Canowindra in 1847 with mail coming from Carcoar, but the village was handicapped as part of a main route to the lower Lachlan, first by the lack of a bridge and later by the construction of the railway to Orange. The first bridge across the Belubula River at Canowindra was opened on 28 July 1875.[8] It was replaced by the Waddell Bridge in May 1901,[9] and by the current John Grant Bridge in 1997.
Gold has been mined at Canowindra; the Blue Jacket, Grant's Reef, Blue Maxwell, and Gospel Oak Mines, were located near the town.[10]