St Columba's Anglican Church

Cassilis
Small village north of Mudgee
Cassilis is a pleasant little village of a hundred people which is located just off the Golden Highway on the Munmurra River. It is 43 km north-west of Merriwa, 86 km north-east of Mudgee and 358 km north-west of Sydney. The main streets have been declared an urban conservation area.

Cassilis began in the 1830s as a private village called Dalkeith which served the Cassilis and Dalkeith stations. The former property was granted to Alexander Busby in 1835 and the latter to Donald McIntyre, the brother of Peter McIntyre (see entry on Aberdeen) in 1834, although it was later acquired by Busby.

8 km to the south-east of Cassilis, a government village called Borambil was laid out (it is now a hamlet of a half dozen houses on the Golden Highway) but people favoured Dalkeith as it was located on a stock route and near a good water supply.

The settlement later became a stopover for coaches bound west from Muswellbrook until the railway replaced the coach service. It was gazetted as a town and named Cassilis in 1869.

Aboriginal bushranger Jimmy Governor worked as a police tracker at Cassilis just prior to taking up a job at Breelong (see entry on Gilgandra) where he started a three-month rampage which resulted in the murder of ten people. His story served as the basis of Thomas Keneally's novel The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith which was made into a film. Governor lived behind the police station.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
Merriwa Information Centre, tel: (02) 6548 2607.

St Columba's Anglican Church

Heritage Buildings
After you turn off the highway you will see, to the left, St Columba's Anglican Church which was built of sandstone in 1899. A little further on is the bridge over the Munmurra River.

As you enter town head down Branksome St. To the right is the modest courthouse/police station complex, designed by Alexander Dawson and built of sandstone in 1858. The police residence, designed by Walter Vernon, dates from 1890. Just past them is an old store which is thought to have been run by Chinese residents at the outset of the century.

The road bends to the left, becoming Buccleugh St. To the right is an attractive timber house dating from the late 19th century when it served as a doctor's residence.

Further along the road, to the left, is the Royal Hotel, built of sandstone c. 1870. On the other side of the road, just past the post office, are the school of arts and library (early 20th century).

Just over Scott St is St Joseph's Catholic Church. Along Scott St an old hitching post can still be seen.

If you continue along Buccleugh St and follow the road as it bends left as the Coolah Rd then, on top of the hill, gazing over the valley below, is the public school (1875) which is still in use.

Beyond the school turn left into Ancrum St which will lead you back in the direction of the highway.

Hands on the Rock
10 km south-west of Cassilis, the Ulan/Mudgee Rd heads south off the Golden Highway. About 20 km along this road take the signposted right onto the dirt road. After 100 m turn right into a small clearing and a 400-m walking track starts from the far side. It leads to overhanging rocks where there are Aboriginal hand stencils dating back hundreds of years.

The Drip
If you continue south on the road to Ulan for another 2.3 km, just before you reach the Goulburn River, there is a signposted turnoff to the left which leads to a car park. A walking track begins on the northern side of the parking area and follows a cliff face adjacent the Goulburn River and over a footbridge. Follow the rock face and you will cross a small bridge, a tumble of rocks and Curra Creek. Walk through the ferny glade then you will pass by a large rock to the right. To the left there are rock orchids and ferns on the cliff face. The track then proceeds on to the sandy riverbank and through a hollowed arch rock. A sign indicates a left turn back to the honeycombed cliff face which you follow to the end. Cross over the grassy bank and a sharp left brings you to the Drip where the river flows over a rock platform.

	Hotels
	Royal Hotel Buccleugh St Cassilis NSW 2329 Telephone: (02) 6376 1004
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Runnymede Homestead Bed & Breakfast Merriwa Rd Cassilis NSW 2329 Telephone: (02) 6376 1183 Rating: ***