page_title: Bathurst, New South Wales
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Bathurst, New South Wales / Culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Catholic Cathedral at Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. Known as St. Michael and St. John's Cathedral opened in April 1861.
context_page_description: Bathurst is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is about 200 kilometres west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council. Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in Australia and had a population of 36,801 at June 2018.
  Bathurst is often referred to as the Gold Country as it was the site of the first gold discovery and where the first gold rush occurred in Australia. Today education, tourism and manufacturing drive the economy. The internationally known racetrack Mount Panorama is a landmark of the city. Bathurst has a historic city centre with many ornate buildings remaining from the gold rush period of the mid to late 19th century.
  The median age of the city's population is 35 years; which is particularly young for a regional centre, and is related to the large education sector in the community. Population growth has reached 1.6% per annum over the five years until 2010, making Bathurst the seventh fastest growing regional city in New South Wales. This growth over recent years has resulted in increased urban development including retail precincts, sporting facilities, housing estates and expanding industrial areas.
context_section_description: Bathurst is a cathedral city, being the seat for the Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops of Bathurst. The city is dotted with many churches and other religious buildings such as schools and halls. The cathedrals are All Saints' (Anglican), and St Michael and St John's (Catholic); then there are many churches and places of worship including St Stephens Presbyterian Church & Hall, Assumption Church (Catholic), St Barnabas' South Bathurst (Anglican) that was partially fire-destroyed in 2014 and others.
  Bathurst was also the home of wartime Labor Prime Minister Ben Chifley, who represented the area in the Federal Parliament and is buried in Bathurst. His legacy is celebrated by the Labor Party each year with a function known as the Light on the Hill speech by a senior Labor figure. The Light on the Hill speech was first delivered to the ALP Conference by Chifley in 1949.
  Bathurst is unusual in that it has a collection of house museums representing different periods of its history from first settlement to the 1970s. The house museums include Old Government Cottage built 1837–1860, Abercrombie House a 40-room historic mansion built c. 1870s, Miss Traill's House built in 1845, and Chifley Home which retains the simple furnishings that demonstrated the lifestyle and image of Chifley as a 'plain man'.
  Bathurst is home to several museums including the Bathurst Historical Society Museum located in the left wing of the historic courthouse. This museum includes in its collection a range of Aboriginal artefacts and large collections of documents relating to Bathurst's early history and collection of local items from Australia's early settlement. Central Bathurst is host to the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum, which houses the Somerville Collection of fossils and minerals, and features Australia's only complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. The Somerville Collection also consists of one of the largest collections of tourmaline in the Southern Hemisphere. The Fossil and Mineral Museum is located in the historic school building in the CBD.
  Organisations that support the various arts are well catered for in Bathurst they include the Mitchell Conservatorium which was the NSW's first regional, community-based, pre-tertiary and non-profit music centre, it was established in May 1978. The Conservatorium provides musical education and performance opportunities to children and adults. The Bathurst Regional Art Gallery focuses on Australian art from 1955 and has a strong representation of local landscapes and particularly local villages and towns. The collection includes several Lloyd Rees paintings. The design of the gallery allows regular exhibitions with an average of 25 exhibitions per year. The gallery is owned by the Bathurst Regional Council and is located in a modern purpose built building incorporating the Regional Library.
  Another Arts group is the Macquarie Philharmonia, this professional and amateur orchestra annually brings together professional musicians living in western areas of NSW. Known as Australia's Inland Symphony Orchestra, throughout the year the Macquarie Philharmonia invites selected music students from the region's Conservatoriums to perform alongside professionals to audiences throughout the Region.
  Carillon Theatrical Society is an amateur theatrical society that has been performing musicals for the people of Bathurst since 1959. Recent shows include The Producers and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
  The NSW Government and Charles Sturt University supports the Arts in the area through Arts OutWest which is the peak arts and cultural body for the Central West area of NSW, operating since 1974. This group promotes and educates arts and cultural development for Bathurst and the region.
  The Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre (BMEC) is a new purpose built building completed in 1999 that provides a venue for local and visiting performances. BMEC has an annual season of entertainment encompassing all forms of the performing arts from Australia and around the world.
  Entertainment and learning is promoted 
caption: Roman Catholic Cathedral, Bathurst, built 1861
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