Guide to Bowral New South Wales Australia

Bowral is the largest and best known town of the Southern Highlands, about 115 kilometres south-west of Sydney at an altitude of 690 metres. Cool summers, crisp winters and four clear seasons made it a retreat for Sydney’s wealthy from the 1880s, and the grand gardens and country houses they left behind still set its tone.

Known For

• The Bradman Museum and Bradman Oval
• Tulip Time and cool-climate gardens
• Shopping, galleries and food on Bong Bong Street

Things To Do in Bowral

Bradman Museum

Sir Donald Bradman grew up in Bowral and learned his cricket here. The Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame, beside the picket-fenced oval that bears his name, tells his story and that of the game around the world. It is open daily, and you can walk past his two childhood homes nearby.

Gardens and Tulip Time

Corbett Gardens, in the middle of town, is planted with tens of thousands of tulips for the Tulip Time festival, held over about two weeks from late September. Many private gardens open in spring and autumn, and Retford Park, a National Trust house on the edge of town, has one of the finest.

Mount Gibraltar

The Gib, the volcanic hill that stands over the town, has a road to the top and lookouts over Bowral, Mittagong and the highlands, with short bush tracks linking them.

Shopping and Galleries

Bong Bong Street and its arcades are lined with fashion, homewares, books and antiques. The regional gallery, in the grounds of Retford Park, shows contemporary art.

Where To Stay

Bowral has country-house hotels, motels, guesthouses and many cottages.

Weekends in spring and autumn, and the whole of Tulip Time, book out well ahead.

Eat & Drink

The town has the best choice of restaurants and cafes in the highlands, along with pubs, a brewery and wine bars. Cool-climate vineyards with cellar doors and restaurants are scattered around the district.

History

The land was part of a grant to the explorer John Oxley, whose family subdivided it for a town when the railway arrived in 1867. Within twenty years Bowral was a fashionable hill station.

Getting to Bowral

Bowral is about an hour and a half from Sydney by the Hume Motorway. Trains on the Southern Highlands Line run from Sydney Central in around two hours.