The City of Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in Australia. It was proclaimed a town in 1815 and, with the discovery of gold, experienced rapid growth in the 1850s and '60s.

The town was gazetted as a city in 1885. Bathurst has superb examples of early 1800's architecture with an abundance of heritage buildings. The main streets are a delightful mixture of old and new, with charming cast iron Victorian lamp-posts adorning busy shopping centres.